Surviving
by Mooolissa11
Summary: The war is over, but why does it feel like it isn't? Our favorite characters try to cope with losses, secrets, and romance after being thrown together at Hogwarts. Will they ever be able to say they feel better? Or will they finally find themselves and love along the way? Draco/Hermione, Harry/Pansy, Blaise/Ginny, Theo/Daphne. Eighth Year. Post-War. Slightly AU
1. Chapter 1

Draco sat counting the white marble spirals that lined the Ministry's floor. He felt Pansy's hand rest on his knee in a comforting gesture. He welcomed it, knowing the gesture comforted her more than him. They all needed comfort, especially today. To his left, Theo sat with an almost identical expression on his face that Draco had: stoic, calm. They both knew that it was just an act. They had too many feelings going through them. Behind him, he could hear the taps of Blaise's shoes echoing through the empty hallway. Draco knew it was bothering them all, but they did not have it in them to tell Blaise to stop. He went back to counting the spirals. _125, 126, 127…_ His monotony was disrupted by Pansy's manicured nails digging into his knee.

"Shit, Pans," he hissed as he rubbed the source of the pain.

He expected an apology of some sort but did not get one. He looked up and realized that Pansy's gaze was not even on him. He followed it to find it fixated on three figures emerging from the Minister's office. The sudden silence in the hall indicated that Blaise had seen them too. Draco glanced at Theo to see him still gazing at the floor.

The three figures exited the office and only then saw the four Slytherins sitting there. All smiles quickly vanishing from their faces. Whether from surprise or anger, Draco did not know. Weasley quickly changed his expression to a glare. Potter and Granger both wore looks void of emotion. Draco met Granger's eyes for the briefest of seconds before turning his gaze to Potter. Potter offered him a nod of the head which Draco returned. He had no reason to hold any malice against him. He had saved them all from the fucked up lives they were leading. The guy was a good guy. He had testified for his mother for fuck's sake.

His mother…. He quickly turned his head back to the floor as he heard the three sets of feet walk away. Blaise resumed his pacing, Draco his counting, Theo stayed staring at the ground, and Pansy ran her hands through her hair and sighed.

"The Minister is ready for you," Draco glanced up to see an old lady with a kind face staring back at them. But as Draco met her eyes, he saw no kindness. They were cold and filled with hatred. He should be used to this, but was not. Not yet anyway. He assumed that there would soon come a day where all their stares would not matter to him, just like everything else, but right now, it still stung. He saw Pansy help Theo up and held out her hand for him to hold. Theo accepted. Comfort. They needed it.

All four entered the room and took the empty seats in front of the Minister's desk.

"Hello Mr. Malfoy," the baritone voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "Mr. Zabini, Mr. Nott, Miss Parkinson."

"Minister," Draco offered for the four of them. Kingsley smiled at him in return.

"I know all four of you have experienced some troubling months," _Years,_ Draco mentally corrected. "We all have." Kingsley continued. "Today, I cannot lie, will also be difficult. We have some paperwork we have to go through first and then we can continue to the real reason you all are here today."

Four heads nodded in agreement.

"Now, did you want to do this separately, or to-"

"Together," they said unison, cutting Kingsley off. He nodded in understanding and waved a stack of folders over to his desk.

"Perfect. We will start with you, Mr. Nott,"

Theo lifted his eyes to meet Kingsley's.

"Your father, as you know, has been sentenced to the Dementor's kiss and will serve out his waiting time in Azkaban. Your mother has been moved to the Psychiatric Ward at St. Mungo's. Unfortunately, she still has not been cleared for visitors and it may be quite some time before she is. We have not found the remains of your sister, but I assure you that our Aurors are working very hard to locate them so that you can have a funeral."

Draco rolled his eyes subtly. He knew Kingsley was on their side, but he doubt the Auror department was. He wanted to say exactly that to Kingsley, but stopped himself. He did not want to make this harder for the rest of them. He saw Theo getting paler with each word. He wanted to reach over to give him a hug, a hand to hold, anything. But his father's voice nagged his mind.

 _"_ _Purebloods show no emotion, Draco. Emotions are a sign of weakness."_

"The Nott Estate, of course, falls into your hands, Theo. Our Aurors are going in and raiding the place of any Dark objects. After that, it completely falls to you-"

"Can-can I ask a favor, Minister?" Theo's voice came out raspy. As if he hadn't spoken in weeks. And as Draco thought about it, he can't remember the last time he heard Theo's voice. Theo looked to his three best friends for support. Pansy offered a smile.

"Of course, Theo, what is it?"

"Burn it. Please," Theo said looking straight at Kingsley. "I…I will keep the land….just burn the house."

If Kingsley was surprised by Theo's request, he did not show it. Draco was not surprised. He thought of doing the same thing to the Manor, but then he remembered his mother. He wanted her to be comfortable.

"If that is what you want Theo, then we can definitely do that," Kingsley responded. Theo nodded and sunk back into his seat.

"We will move onto Miss Parkinson," Pansy sat up straighter. "Pansy, as you also know, your father has been sentenced to the Dementor's kiss. He will also be serving out the rest of his time in Azkaban. Parkinson Manor is now yours." Kingsley paused as if waiting for Pansy to request the same thing to Theo. She did not say a word, instead she nodded. Kingsley smiled and turned to Blaise.

"Mr. Zabini, we cannot locate your mother. We have Aurors searching everywhere for her. Because of this, we do not think it is wise for you to return to your estate. Do you have a place to stay?"

Blaise looked conflicted. Draco knew he wanted good news on the whereabouts of his mother.

"Yes, Minister," Blaise answered. "I will stay with Draco."

"Very well," Kingsley responded. "We will have Aurors sent over to the apartment to make sure that the proper charms are cast. Would that be okay Draco?"

Draco grudgingly nodded. Honestly, he did not want Aurors to step foot into his apartment, but he did not want to upset Kingsley.

"Perfect, now onto you Mr. Malfoy," Kingsley turned his gaze to Draco and offered him a small smile. Draco did not return it, but Kingsley was not expecting him too.

"First, I want to thank you for coming to me to discuss all of this. I know it is a lot to go through and it is a lot you have already gone through,"

Draco nodded, but said nothing.

"I hope this is not too inappropriate Draco, but I also wanted to let you know that I never thought you like your father," Kingsley said sincerely. Draco saw Pansy and Blaise exchange surprised looks. "You are so like your mother. I don't know if I ever expressed this to you, but I am very grateful that you came to us during the way. I also believe that I need to apologize."

All four sets of eyes, now filled with shock, turned to look at Kingsley. He looked sincere and truthful.

"I thought it would have been beneficial not to reveal your true alliance during the war. I was mistaken. I asked the four of you to continue living in your bigoted lives when you asked for a chance to see light. It has been my greatest disappointment. I truthfully hope that the four of you can forgive me. I see the looks everyone gives you four, unknowingly. It is undeserving."

"Minister… Kingsley," Draco said catching his attention. "It is okay. We know that we would not have been welcomed with opened arms. We all did what we had to do. We did what we had to survive. We forgive you."

The other three nodded in agreement. Kingsley looked impressed and touched.

"Thank you," he responded then proceeded to clear his throat as if getting rid of any emotion that may have built up in there. "Now Mr. Malfoy, as you know, your father has the same fate as the others. Malfoy Manor is now yours."  
"It is my mother's," Draco said. "She will keep it and do as she wishes."

Kingsley nodded. He finished writing all the paperwork and moved to receive four familiar letters.

"I have one more thing to address to the four of you before we move on," he continued. "Hogwarts is opening once more."

He handed each of them their letters.

"Headmistress McGonagall has expressed her wishes for those in your year to come back to school to repeat your final year. The Ministry is highly in agreement in this decision with Hogwarts and also encourages your seventh year to be repeated. Do you have any questions?"

"So we definitely have to go back?" Pansy said eyeing her letter.

"It is not required, but as your Minister I am requiring you," Kingsley said smiling.

Pansy laughed lightly, but Draco knew that she did not want to go back. None of them really did. "Of course I am joking, but I do highly suggest going back, The Ministry job requirements have not changed. You do still need to obtain your NEWTs to get a job. However, I know that this is a new world we are living in. There are many people who have lost loved ones who will have a hard time moving on. I am afraid that grudges will be held, on both sides. But, I also want you four to know that if you have any problems at all, you can owl me directly."

Draco turned to Theo to see him with shock all over his face. Blaise and Pansy looked similar. Draco knew that Kingsley was just trying to make up for everything that had happened during the war. And to be honest, he was doing a great job so far.

"Thank you very much, Minister," Pansy smiled. Kingsley returned it before standing and making his way around the desk to stand directly in front of them.

"Now I am afraid it is time for the hard part," Kingsley's voice went serious. Draco felt his palms get sweaty. "I know none of you want to do this. But it is Wizarding Law. If a family member is receiving the dementor's kiss, they must meet with one member of their family. It is meant to act as their last chance to remember their humanity."

Blaise looked at his three best friends as they all got up and followed Kingsley out of the office to the lift. Ignoring all the looks they were receiving, they made their way. Once the doors closed, Kingsley turned to them.

"You will each have 5 minutes," he said. "Mr. Zabini, you will stay with me." Blaise nodded but continued looking at the pale expressions on his best friends' faces. They should not have to be put in a room with their sadistic parents. He hoped none of them would break character, even though it didn't matter if their parents knew now or not. They were locked up. For him, it was a different story. Either way, none of their parents needed to know that their children did not believe the bullshit they've been spewing for years.

"Mr. Nott, you will be in holding room 1." Kingsley continued.

"Theo," Draco said to his friend who was getting paler by the second. When Theo did not look up, Draco let out a more forceful, "Theo!"

Theo's head snapped up to meet Draco's eyes.

"It will be okay. It is only 5 minutes," Draco said.

"Drake, he killed Elizabeth. He tortured my mum." Theo was visibly shaking now. Pansy stepped closer to him and grasped his hand. Blaise put a hand on his shoulder.

"We know Theo. _We_ know. But we have to. You need to get yourself together. You are a damn good Legilimens. We all are." Draco grabbed Theo's shoulders as an attempt to stop him from shaking. "I believe in you, mate. Theo, I believe in you."

Theo took some deep breaths and sent a small smile at his friends. Draco stepped back and met Kingsley's eyes. He had an odd expression on his face. One of thought mixed with guilt. Draco looked away as he waited to hear where his father was located.

Kingsley cleared his throat and continued, "Miss Parkinson, you'll be in holding room 2." Pansy let go of Theo's hand and blew out a long breath. "Okay," she replied.

"Mr. Malfoy," Kingsley said turning to Draco. "Room 3."

Draco nodded. The lift opened and Kingsley led them through the Auror office. Draco once again, ignored all the glares, stares, and whispers. They were led through another series of doors before finally stopping. In front of them were large metal doors with Aurors on each side. Each door was clearly marked by numbers. Draco moved to stand in front of the one marked three. He looked to his right to see Pansy and Theo following his lead.

"There will be Aurors in there with you. They have the Muffliato charm cast on them to ensure privacy." All three nodded. Then the doors opened.

The room was all metal. The emptiness that filled Draco meant that no magic was allowed to be performed. In the middle of the room sat a metal desk with one chair on each side, He glanced at both Aurors. They both faced the table, but neither was looking at him. Draco tried to take some deep calming breaths that Pansy had recommended they try. He found no use in them. Sighing, he instead focused on putting the walls up around his mind. Lucius has never been able to break them and he was not about to let him break them now. Just as Draco finished, the door on the other side of the room opened. In walked a shackled Lucius led by a pair of burly Aurors. They let go of him and went to stand beside the other door in the room.

Draco took in his father's appearance. His hair was tangled and greasy. His cheeks were sunken and his lips chapped. He looked like he was in desperate need of a shower. If Draco had an ounce of sympathy left in him directed at his father then he would have felt it all in that moment. But now… now he could not help but think that his father deserved every bit of punishment he got. He knew that karma was a bitch and Lucius was on the receiving end now.

Lucius slowly sat down opposite of Draco and stared at him. Draco stared back before clearing his throat.

"Father."

"Draco," Lucius replied, his voice sounded like sandpaper. "You are looking well, son."

"Thank you." Draco did not return the sentiment. Lucius looked like shit.

"How is your mother?"

With those four words, Draco froze. How dare he ask about her? After everything he had done to her, to them, he dared to ask. Draco clenched his hands and took a deep breath. When he looked up, he saw Lucius smirking.

"You have always been too much like your mother, Draco," Lucius said. Draco continued staring at him. "You are soft. _A coward_. You have too many...feelings. The Dark Lord was right about you. You will never be a great wizard. You will never do something worthy of remembering. You and Narcissa are both disgraces to the Malfoy name."

Draco's jaw clenched. Lucius saw it and his smirk widened even more. Draco sat processing his father's words before deciding his. He didn't care; this man sitting in front of him was a stranger. A dead man. When he decided to speak, his voice came out low and threatening.

"If mother and I are disgraces to the Malfoy name then no words make me happier. The more I am like Mother and less like you, the better. You are a lousy person. What happened to you? What made you become such a spineless excuse of a wizard?"

"Don't you dare speak to-," Lucius yelled at him, but Draco cut him off.

"I will speak to you however I damn well please! You are no longer the man whom I looked up to. I hold no respect for you anymore; do you want to know when that started?"

Lucius was red in the face and seething. His nostrils were flared and he was breathing heavily. Draco reveled at how he angry he was making his father. He knew exactly where he was going with this conversation, consequences be damned.

"It was the summer before my fourth year, Father. I found out what you were planning. What you did to Mother… Imagine that: the man I thought to be someone I wanted to grow up to be, was nothing more than a brainless oaf. I went to Severus. I told him everything. He took us, all of us, the ones who you all assumed was on your side, to the Order. To Kingsley Shaklebolt and Albus Dumbledore. We were under their protection. We served the Order as spies. And you know what? I am fucking proud of what I did." Draco did not even realize that he was standing until he was done. He sat back down and glared at his father who looked like he had been slapped in the face. Draco smirked before continuing:

"No one knows what we did, only Kingsley now. But it does not matter. We know. If what I did makes me weak, if it makes me a coward, so be it. Those words mean nothing to me. I am proud to be my mother's son. My father, on the other hand… Well, let's just say, I have never been happier than I was the day they announced your sentence."

Draco leant back in his chair. He felt lighter like he was no longer carrying the weight of the world. He could finally live his life. Lucius was looking at him like he had no idea who he was. And truthfully, he did not know his son. Draco knew that he and his friends had talked about keeping their roles in the war from their parents, but he saw no point in that anymore. The war was over. The Light won. His father was sentenced to a fate worse than death. There should be no reason why he should not tell him the truth. He wanted to hurt him. He wanted him to know that his only child did not believe the same ideologies that he did. Lucius cleared his throat.

"Is it true?" he asked, his eyes disbelieving.

"Why would I lie?" Draco responded snarkily before sighing. "Yes, it is true. Every word I just told you is the truth."

Lucius looked into his son's eyes before responding, hate filling his voice.

"You disgust me," he spat. Draco just smiled.

"Father, enjoy the last few days of your life." Draco looked at the Aurors who were moving towards them. He stood and stared at the man who raised him for a final time. Lucius looked like he was having an internal battle. He opted for glaring at his son before he was pulled out of the room. Draco turned to exit the room, turning his back on his father and his past.

When he reentered the corridor, he saw Pansy already standing with Blaise with a torn expression on her face. Draco hurriedly made his way over.

"Pans, you okay?" he asked as he approached.

"Yes, I think so," she replied turning to face him. "I just told my father about everything."

"Great!" Draco exclaimed. "Me too"

"How did yours react?"

Draco shrugged. "Just like I expected him to: stubborn. Why? How did yours react?"

"Calmly," Pansy replied softly. "Too calm…He told me that he always knew that I would disappoint him. Then he calmly told me about my mom…everything about her…what he did to her…"

Draco and Blaise exchanged shocked looks, but before they could enquire further, Theo emerged from his room. He had a smile plastered across his face. He jogged up to his friends happily.

"I told him," he said. "I told him what we did. How much I hate him and how I am happy he'll be gone."

Pansy and Draco smiled at Theo. "Us too," Draco responded.

Blaise stood looking shocked. "Hang on for a bloody second! I thought," he started. "I thought we agreed not to tell them anything."

Pansy was about to respond when Kingsley came back over.

"It looks like everything went well. Your parents are back in their cells at Azkaban." Kingsley smiled at them as he started leading them out of the Auror office. "Did you guys happen to tell them anything about your roles in the war?"

They nodded.

"I just felt like I needed to," Draco responded. "I did not want him to think that I was anything like him."

Kingsley nodded as they reached the Floo area.

"I agree with you Mr. Malfoy. You four have nothing to be ashamed of. You don't have to hide anymore," He smiled at them. "Thank you all for coming in. I know it was hard, but it needed to be done."

They returned the smile as they shook hands with him and exited through the Floo into their new lives.


	2. Chapter 2

Hermione laughed as Kingsley made fun of Harry and Ron.

"I just don't know why The Prophet keeps publishing Skeeter's stories!" Ron exclaimed.

"Why?" Kingsley replied. "A romance between Harry and yourself is very believable."

Harry and Hermione laughed as Ron turned red.

"That is exactly the problem, Kingsley," Hermione responded. "It is too believable!"

They all indulged in a new bout of laughter as the trio got up to leave.

"Thank you for having us today," Hermione said once the laughter died down. "We just wanted you to know how happy we are because we get to go back to Hogwarts."

Ron snorted. "You sure there's no way to get into the Auror program without going back to school?" he said half-jokingly, half-serious.

Kingsley laughed. "Unfortunately not, you will definitely need to take your NEWTs."

"Damn."

Harry and Hermione laughed lightly as they exchanged goodbyes with Kingsley and moved to open the door.

As the door opened, Hermione's smile instantly vanished as her eyes connected with piercing gray ones. The intense gaze held hers for a second before it turned to her left. Malfoy nodded at Harry, a sentiment which Harry returned. Hermione took in the four Slytherins that were occupying the corridor. They looked agitated. Parkinson was staring simply at Ron, who seemed to be wearing an angry glare. Zabini was standing beside Parkinson fidgeting with his hands, his face impassive. Malfoy was just sitting there with a blank look on his face. Nott, however, was not even looking at them. He gaze was on the floor. Hermione felt Harry and Ron turning on both sides of her. They stayed quiet until they turned the corner.

"They've got some nerve showing their face at the ministry," Ron spat. "After what they've done, I hope Kingsley is going to throw them in Azkaban."

Hermione tuned out his ramblings and looked at Harry, who sent her an amused look. Ron and his ramblings about the Slytherins always took her back to a crucial night during the war. The night Harry and she started thinking differently.

 _Harry and Hermione were in the Grimmauld Place library trying to find any books that would be of use to them. They had apparated from The Burrow. It was the night before Bill and Fleur's wedding. Everyone else was in bed. They had asked Ron to come along but he decided to keep watch, which Harry and Hermione knew meant he wanted to sleep. Hermione had just found a Dark Arts book and turned to give it to Harry when she heard the startling sounds of apparition. Harry turned around, panicked._

 _"_ _Hermione!" he whispered. "Quick!"_

 _He pulled his invisibility cloak out of his pocket as Hermione rushed over. He threw it over them just as Kingsley came into sight. Kingsley looked around the library pausing briefly as he saw the Dark Arts book left on the desk. Hermione gasped sharply as she realized her mistake. Just as Kingsley moved to pick it up, two more pops sounded. Tonks appeared pulling along a reluctant looking Draco Malfoy. Hermione felt Harry go rigid._

 _"_ _Harry," she warned. "We don't know why they are here. Don't do something irrational."_

 _Harry reluctantly nodded._

 _"_ _I don't know why you can't bloody tell me where to meet instead of having her kidnap me," Draco said glaring at Tonks. She just laughed heartedly and tousled his hair which Draco fixed quickly. Harry and Hermione exchanged confused looks as Kingsley started speaking._

 _"_ _This is the safest option, Mr. Malfoy," he said while gesturing to the couch to left of where Harry and Hermione stood, hidden. Draco and Tonks both sat. "So, Draco, are there any new developments?"_

 _Draco looked down, shaking slightly as he spoke._

 _"_ _Well, Mother is not doing well," he started. "I had to take her off the medication entirely. I thought the weaning was working but when I took her off everything, she went mental. I had to start giving her a little bit more just so Father would not get suspicious," he turned to Tonks before continuing. "Is there any way that she can stay with Aunt Andromeda? She responds really well to her. She's almost like her old self when she is with her. I know it is a lot to ask but if she could just spend time with her…."_

 _Tonks looked conflicted. After a few moments, she looked ready to answer with a determined look, but Kingsley cut her off._

 _"_ _You know we can't do that Draco," Kingsley said. "If your mother were just to disappear then it would look incredibly suspicious. You would put not only yourself in danger, but your mother as well."_

 _Draco sighed, but nodded his head. He understood their reasoning but it hurt. When he looked back up, he had a blank look in his eyes. Kingsley did not seem to notice as he asked, "Anything else? What about Voldemort? The others?"_

 _Draco stared blankly for a second before speaking. And when he started, it was unemotional...detached._

 _"_ _Voldemort is planning to take over the Ministry, as well as Hogwarts. He is going to name Severus as Headmaster. He is sending the Carrows to teach there as well. So if Potter was planning on going back, advise him not to," he said. "As for the others: Blaise was tortured by his mother the other day for refusing to bow to her new husband, Antoin Dolohov. Pansy was thrown down the stairs at her house by her father when the tea she brought him was too cold. And Theo, well Theo has spent the last two days watching his mother repeatedly tortured and abused while listening to his father tell his 11 year old sister that she will be next. But honestly Kingsley, thank you. Thank you for the protection you gave us when I came to you begging for help, showing you that I've changed. We all appreciate it and we absolutely do not feel like your little spy puppets." He stood up red in the face, nodded at Tonks and apparated away. Tonks however was seething. She turned to Kingsley ready to explode._

 _"_ _What the hell is wrong with all of you?" she started. "Draco came to Albus, you, and Remus asking for help. But since Albus has been gone, the two of you decide to just keep him and his friends as spies? They are kids, Shacklebolt! Kids! He is not the little snotty kid he once was. He is smart and caring. Yet you all decide to treat them like shit. They don't deserve this. They should not keep pretending to fight for a cause they do not believe in just because you believe that the members of the Order won't accept him! Well guess what Kingsley? He is my cousin and I accept him. I will protect him AND all his friends all on my own. You and Remus need to clean up your acts. Now I am leaving because this stress is not good for the baby,"_

 _She got up to leave and when Kingsley moved to get up as well she turned around and yelled:_

 _"_ _Don't follow me! I am not ready to speak to you."_

 _Kingsley stopped and looked amused as she apparated away. He then sighed before apparated away._

 _Hermione and Harry stood still for a moment as the house went silent once again. Harry then slowly removed the cloak and sat on the couch Malfoy and Tonks were occupying a few moments earlier. He ran his hands through his already messy hair._

 _"_ _Do you really think people won't accept them?" Hermione asked as she leaned against the desk._

 _Harry sighed, and then laughed lightly._

 _"_ _Hermione, if we did not overhear that conversation and Remus and Kingsley came to us to say that Malfoy and his friends wanted protection from the Order, we would have gotten irrationally angry."_

 _Hermione nodded in understanding then looked at Harry._

 _"_ _I am scared for them. It seems dangerous having them still on that side."_

 _Harry sighed, "I agree. But there is nothing we can do. We have more important things to deal with." He stood up and grabbed the Dark Arts book and put it in Hermione's bag. She pushed herself off the desk and shook her head, clearing it of all thoughts of Draco Malfoy and his friends._

"Hermione?" Ron said trying to get her attention.

"Sorry Ron," she answered. "What was it that you said? My mind was elsewhere."

"It's your turn to go through the Floo," Ron stated. Hermione turned to see the fireplace filled with the green flames. She stepped through announcing The Burrow as her destination. As she arrived, she saw Ginny sitting on the floor playing with what looked like Quidditch figurines.

"Hey," Hermione said as she took a seat next to her. "What are you doing?"

"Quidditch strategy," Ginny replied. "I know Harry will probably get the captaincy since you guys are coming back to Hogwarts, but I still want to brush up."

Hermione smiled at her just as Harry came through the Floo. He smiled at both girls and moved to plop himself on the couch just as Ron stepped out as well. Ron also made his way to the couch and sat next to Harry.

"How was it at the Ministry today?" Ginny asked as she made one of her figurines score the quaffle.

"It was okay," Hermione responded as her eyes followed the celebrating figurine. "It was nice seeing Kingsley in the office. I am really happy he is the new minister."

"We did see Malfoy and his snakes though," Ron said as he reached forward to the table in front of him to grab a cauldron cake. He stuffed it in his mouth before continuing. "Do you think Kingsley was charging them?"

Ginny laughed.

"For what?" she asked. "Existing? They did not do anything wrong during the war."

Ron rolled his eyes as he grabbed another cake and made his way to the next room. Harry shook his head before getting up and following him. Once they were out of sight, Hermione leaned into Ginny.

"We need to talk," she whispered.  
Ginny looked at her surprised. "About what?"

"You and Harry first of all. After that, I am sure more topics will flow."

Ginny sighed as she pulled out her wand to put the figurines away. Once that was done, she turned to Hermione.

"Let's go to my room," she said. "We need a good heart-to-heart.

Hermione laughed. "I will get the elf-made wine."

"Bring those cauldron cakes too before Ron scarves them all down," Ginny said standing up. "I will tell Mum that we are in my room."

Hermione made her way to the kitchen. Making sure wasn't in sight; she grabbed the elf-made wine. She and Ginny were both of age but always had a way of making them feel like she was disappointed in them. Hermione then levitated the cauldron cakes and sent them to Ginny's room. Grabbing two glasses, she made her way up there as well.

Ginny was already in there charming the room with some silencing charms and locking the door before she sat on her bed, legs crossed. Hermione set the wine down on Ginny's desk after she poured them both a glass.

"Now, go." Hermione said handing her a glass and joining her on the bed.

"Well, three days ago, we talked," Ginny started. "I told him that I love him and will always love him, but the passion is not there anymore. I was not surprised when he agreed with me. He told me, and 'Mione this is the worst part! He told me that he saw me like a little sister now."

Hermione snorted unattractively into her wine as Ginny continued.

"He said that his feelings for me were akin to his feelings for you," Ginny laughed as she took another sip of the wine. "As you can imagine, any remaining feelings I had for him were gone in that moment."

Both girls laughed hard.

"It might be for the best though," Ginny said.

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked.

"Well ever since the final battle, when things calmed down and we got to spend actual time together, it felt awkward. A little bit off. Like it was not natural anymore," Ginny said as Hermione gave her an encouraging look to continue. "I feel like Harry needs a girl who can really put him in his place. I think I will always keep him on a pedestal. I have convinced myself that I have been in love with him since I was 10. We dated for a total of 4 months before we broke up. You guys were gone for a whole year. In that time, I built our relationship up in my head to be something it isn't."

Hermione nodded in understanding.

"That's how I felt with Ron," she said as she handed Ginny a cauldron cake. "I feel like I only thought that I had feelings for him because he was always there. Like my mind was not able to differentiate between our fights as friends fighting or romantic passion."

"That makes sense," Ginny replied. "You thought that your fights were an indicator that you two would have a passionate relationship."

Hermione nodded as she got up to grab the wine from the desk. "Ron and I are not a good combination. Yes, we are great friends. We will always be. But I need someone who I can have debates with. I need someone who can challenge me a little bit. Push me to my edge and pull me back in…someone who will be a challenge for me to figure out."

Ginny smiled knowingly. "So you saw Malfoy today?"

Hermione turned around mid-pour and looked at Ginny. She let out a quiet "Yes…" before continuing.

"Clever change of subject, by the way"

Ginny suppressed her laugh.

"Do you think he will be back at school?" she asked as she leaned back into her pillow.

"I hope so," Hermione answered truthfully. "I really want an opportunity to thank him. For everything he did."

"And Ron still doesn't know what he did? What they all did?"

"No. He still believes that they willingly served Voldemort. Harry and I have no idea how to tell him what we overheard that night. I have no idea how to tell him that Malfoy cast a nonverbal protection spell on me at Malfoy Manor while Bellatrix was torturing me." Hermione rolled up her sleeve and traced the letters of the scar Bellatrix gave her. She did not feel it as it happened, but it was still there reminding her of injustice every day.

Ginny smiled slightly at Hermione as she grabbed the wine from her and poured herself another glass.

"You know what we should do?" she asked.  
"What?"

"We should fill the wine bottle back with pumpkin juice so Mum wouldn't know we took it."

Hermione laughed. It did not take long until Ginny joined her. The alcohol brought out their giggles but they needed this. It had been too long since they had been able to let loose like this. Hermione missed their long nights where they would talk about anything and everything. She was happy to be able to have one of these nights again. At 18 and 17, Hermione and Ginny had been through far too much. They knew each other's deepest secrets and they needed this.

Once their laughter calmed down, Ginny turned to Hermione.

"I always thought he had feelings for you," she said seriously.

"Who?" Hermione asked shocked.

"Malfoy."

Hermione laughed at her suggestion.

"No Gin, I told you. He was a spy. He was just trying to help when he did that."

Ginny just shrugged knowing how stubborn Hermione can be.

"I'm telling you… you'll see a different Draco Malfoy at school."

Hermione just laughed as she leaned back on the bed next to her best girlfriend.

"We will see Gin."

"You know, I always thought Zabini was a good looking specimen.

Hermione smiled. "I know you did. He was there today too, along with Pansy and Theo."

"I hope Kingsley was thanking them for everything they did," Ginny said suppressing a yawn.

"I hope so too."

They lay on the bed in silence for a few moments. Ginny's steady breaths indicated to Hermione that she had fallen asleep. Hermione too closed her eyes to sleep and allowed her mind to be filled with images of Draco Malfoy and his stormy gray eyes. It seemed that that night she would be dreaming of those eyes and the man whom they belonged to.


	3. Chapter 3

Draco woke up from a fitful sleep. He rubbed his tired eyes as he stretched out his equally tired limbs. He had moved out of the Manor at the beginning of the summer as his Aunt Andromeda moved in. He had found a very nice apartment in a Muggle neighborhood. He and Blaise charmed the house with the Fidelius and he appointed Blaise as his secret-keeper. Draco wanted to pretty much be off the map since the war.

He rolled off of his bed and made his way to his bathroom. After he completed his morning routine and threw on a decent pair of trousers and a nice shirt, he made his way into the kitchen. He found Blaise sitting at the breakfast table reading the Prophet with a cup of tea and two pieces of toast.

"Morning, mate," Blaise said looking up as Draco entered and made a beeline to the kettle.

"Morning," Draco replied as he made himself a cup of tea. "Are you ready for today?"

Blaise nodded. "Well as ready as you can be. You know how judgmental everyone is going to be."

"I know," Draco said, grabbing two slices of toast and sitting next to Blaise. "I don't really know how many of our classmates to expect back."

"Well… we could try to figure it out," Blaise suggested as he put the paper down and summoned a quill and ink.

"That will be interesting," Draco responded dryly. "And by interesting, I mean very depressing." Blaise grimaced slightly as he realized that Draco was right. Many of their classmates had died during the war.

"How about we not mention the dead?" he asked Draco.

Draco nodded in agreement, still dreading the worse.

"Okay, Let us start with Gryffindor," Blaise transfigured the newspaper into a couple blank pieces of parchment and started writing. "Weasley, Potter, Granger."

"McLaggen, Thomas, Finnegan, Longbottom," Draco added.

"Patil," Blaise said as he wrote. "Vane"

Silence engulfed the kitchen as the duo sat in thought, realizing that there were no more students in their rival house. Clearing his throat, while simultaneously pushing away the sadness that was creeping up his body, Draco said:

"Hufflepuffs"

Blaise nodded slowly as he started to write.

"Abbott, Bones, Finch-Fletchley, MacMillian… anymore?" he asked leaning back in his chair.

Draco thought for a minute before answering, "Oh! Smith, the bloody wanker."

Blaise laughed lightly before adding him to the list.

"For Ravenclaw, "Blaise continued. "There's Edgecombe, Goldstein, Boot, the other Patil…" he trailed off.

"That can't be it right?" Draco questioned as he tried to think.

"I think it might be," Blaise said softly. "There'll be even less Slytherins."

"I know," Draco replied. "No Crabbe and no Goyle." He swallowed the lump that was beginning to form in his throat.

Blaise nodded. "So just us four?"

"And hopefully Daphne."

Blaise stood up abruptly. "I'm gonna get ready." He said as he levitated his dishes and set them to wash themselves. "We have to visit your mother before we head to the train station."

He hurried from the room and Draco heard his door shut. As soon as he realized he was alone, he buried his head in his hands. He felt sick. It was horrible thinking about all the lives lost. He felt guilty for Crabbe, but even more so for Goyle. He was not able to save them from the sadistic ways of their parents. While Crabbe embraced the new found power that he gained last year, Goyle wanted nothing of it. About two weeks after the final battle Greg was found alone in his parents' manor with his wand. The Aurors said that he Avada'd himself. Draco and his friends had been heartbroken and he knew that to some extent they were still processing the death of their close friend.

After a couple more moments of silence, Draco got up and made his way to his room. He gathered his trunk that he had prepared last night only stopping to look at himself in the mirror. He was wearing all black. It was like he was in mourning. He realized that he probably was. He took in his appearance and realized that he was looking healthier than he was for the last two years of his life. He was no longer flesh and bones. The dark spots under his eyes were slowly fading and he was gaining some of his color back. Truth be told, he wasn't ready to go back to school. He was nervous. However there was no use in complaining. Shaking those feelings off, he levitated his trunk to the Floo Room of his apartment and stood waiting for Blaise. He did not have to wait long as Blaise entered the room a couple seconds later. He too was wearing all black. Wordlessly, Draco put both their trunks in the Floo and sent it to the Manor. He nodded to Blaise and he stepped in and called out the destination. He felt nauseating pull of the Floo and opened his eyes just in time to step out into his childhood home. He stumbled for a moment thinking that he stepped out of the wrong grate.

The room looked completely different since the last time he was here. Gone was the entire dark and gloomy interior. The walls were now painted a pale yellow and actually had framed pictures hanging on them. Shocked, Draco moved forward to view a picture of three little girls laughing and hugging each other. They looked to be standing in a field of daisies that were planted in front of a lake. The eldest of the three had her long black hair in a plait going down the spine of her back. She was hugging the youngest tightly as the wind blew through their hair. The middle sister held on to the youngest on the other side , a huge smile gracing her kind face as she instructed her little sister to wave to the camera. Draco's eyes drifted to the youngest and his heart clenched. She had her long blonde hair in two pigtails and was using both her arms to wave at the camera. Occasionally she would glance back at her elder sisters to see if she was doing it the proper way.

"Whoa…" Blaise exclaimed as he approached Draco's side. "Are we at the right house, mate?"

Draco laughed lightly as he looked back at the picture. Seeing his mother and her sisters so carefree and uncorrupted made him want to pluck them from the picture and keep them safe from the horrors that they were going to witness later in their lives. He felt snickering beside him. He turned and sent Blaise a questioning look.

"Sorry," Blaise apologized. "It is just so weird seeing a happy and innocent Bellatrix."

Draco nodded as he found it unsettling as well. He was about to respond when a figure walked into the room.

"Boys!" his Aunt Andromeda exclaimed as she came into view. She engulfed them both in hugs. "I did not know you were here already!"

Draco smiled, "We just got in Aunt Andromeda. You look great by the way."

She returned his smile as she placed her and on his cheek in a gratuitous maternal gesture. The two boys then followed her as she led them through the house to the sitting room. Every room they passed now exuded life and happiness. The Manor was bright and welcoming.

"I love what you've done with the place, 'Dromeda," Blaise said as they walked into the sitting room.

"Thank you Blaise," she replied warmly. "Cissy and I have been having so much fun with it." She looked at Draco before continuing in a soft voice. "She's been so much better, Draco. I am able to only have her take one vial of the potion now. Her twitching has gone down significantly and she is able to remember more. Her memory is improving. She is also talking a lot more."

Draco tightened his jaw as he nodded. It was still hard for him to digest what happened with his mother.

"I think Teddy has been helping her greatly as well," Andromeda continued.

"Teddy?" Blaise asked. "Where is my little buddy? I need to tell him how I saw a troll the other day." Andromeda laughed but was saved from answering Blaise's question as Narcissa came through the door with Teddy in her arms. As soon as she saw Draco, a smile widened on her face. Teddy, who was babbling in her ear, noticed that her attention was not on him anymore and followed her gaze.

"Dray!" he screamed. He started wiggling until his grandaunt set him on the floor. He wobbly made his way to Draco. Draco picked him up and gave him a kiss on the head.

"How is my favorite little guy?" Draco asked. Teddy just laughed and hugged him. Draco kept him in his arms as he made his way over to his mother. She threw her arms around him as soon as he got close enough. Draco tried to return it as much he could but having Teddy in his arms made it difficult. He settled for a one handed huge.

"You look great Mother," he said after she pulled back and led them to the couches.

"So do you my son," she said softy as she grasped his hand.

"Aunt Cissa," Blaise greeted standing to help her sit down. "I am so happy to see you. You look so healthy."

She smiled at him as she leaned over to kiss his cheek, "Thank you Blaise."

Teddy saw Blaise and made a lunge for him from Draco's arms. Andromeda caught him and calmly handed him to Blaise as both he and Draco took their seats.

"Are you boys ready for Hogwarts?" she asked once Teddy was safely fastened in Blaise's arms. The response from the boys came in terms of nonchalant shrugs. They honestly did not know how to feel and their conversation they had an hour before was still looming in their heads. Both ladies just nodded seemingly understanding the boys' unspoken answer.

"You all will be fine," Narcissa told them in her soft, strained voice. "The world is changed for the better. Mr. Potter and his friends made sure of that. You two and Theo and Pansy made sure of that too."

Draco smiled slightly as her words sunk in. It meant a lot hearing his mother's voice offer him words of encouragement again.

"I think it has just been hard," Blaise said as he bounced Teddy on his knee. "No one knows what we did. My mother is still out there. It still feels like the war is happening. At least to me it does."

Draco nodded. The effects of the war were affecting them every day. The ones who were seemingly on the losing side… And Blaise was right. As long as his mother was still roaming around free, then they had to be constantly ready for whatever might happen next.

"You mustn't worry about how others are reacting," Andromeda said. "They are stuck in their worlds of grief. As for your mother Blaise, we will protect you from her. You have nothing to fear."

Blaise smiled at the two women as Draco checked his watch.

"The train leaves in 20 minutes," he directed to Blaise, who nodded and passed Teddy to Andromeda before standing up. Draco turned to both his aunt and his mother. He held his mother's hand as he addressed them.

"I will make sure to write every week," he said seriously. "I don't want either of you to worry about us. We will be fine"

They nodded as Narcissa pulled him in for a hug.

"I love you, my son," she whispered. "You make me so proud."

Draco felt his throat tighten up at his mother's words.

"I love you too Mother." He pulled back and flashed her with a rare smile before moving to hug his Aunt Andromeda.

"Do take care of yourself, Draco," Andromeda said as she hugged him tightly. "You look so worried all the time."

He laughed lightly as he responded, "I will my best Aunt Andromeda."

When she broke their hug, he stepped back to allow Blaise to say his goodbyes. When they were both finished they made their way back to the Floo Room. Exchanging one last smile to both Andromeda and Narcissa, they apparated to Kings Cross.

Draco felt the all too familiar pull before Platform 9 and Three Quarters materialized in front of him. He turned to see Blaise appear next to him and together they made their way to board the train and find a compartment. Eventually, they found an empty one towards the back of the train and began to put their luggage away.

"Should we look for Theo and Pans?" Blaise asked once they were settled. Draco shook his head as he knew that their best friends would find them. He also had no intentions of going back out on the platform to be ridiculed by the glares and stares that were directed towards them. Blaise seemed to understand as he nodded and pulled out a book from his clock pockets and began reading.

Draco used this time to look out the window. He watched absentmindedly as the small first years appeared on the platform. They looked both terrified and excited. He thought of their innocence. Though he and everyone he knew was suffering in the aftermath of the war, it was the faces of these little children, children like Teddy, that made the victory all the more worth it. His gaze followed the heads of a group of first years until he realized that they were walking up to the so-called Golden Trio.

He watched the children as they seemed to ask the trio what looked to him like a million questions. Potter, Draco noticed, looked flustered but smiled kindly to them. Weasel seemed to be standing straighter with his chest puffed out. The sight made Draco want to roll his eyes. He saw Weaselette actually rolling her eyes at her older brother. He then allowed his gaze to drift to Granger. She was smiling at the group. Her chocolate eyes twinkling as she knelt down to their eye level. She looked to have said something that really excited the group of first years. She laughed, her head falling back. She then flashed them the sweetest smile as they scurried away. Draco inwardly took a sharp intake of breath as he watched her smile. She was beautiful.

However, two loud snickers coming across from him snapped him back to reality. He looked over to see Blaise laughing with Theo. When did he get here?

"Careful there Drake," Theo laughed. "Stare any harder and Granger will finally figure out that you have been harboring a crush on her for what seems like forever."

He and Blaise laughed harder. Draco shot them an annoyed glare but did not say anything. There was no point in denying it. They were his best mates and they knew.

"When the hell did you get here?" he asked changing the subject. "And where the bloody hell is Pansy? I thought she would be with you."

Theo slowly tried to calm his breathing from laughing so hard. It took a couple more moments. He only succeeded when Draco sent a swift kick his way.

"Okay, okay," he said rubbing his leg but still smiling. "I woke up late and when I flooed Pans she said that she woud be here soon. She told me not to bother coming over."

"And you think she's okay?" Draco asked sitting up a bit straighter. Call it a side effect from war, but he was constantly concerned about the safety of those he loved.

"Yeah," Theo nodded. "Nothing seemed off. I asked her if she was okay and she assured me that everything was fine. In fact, she seemed excited."

Draco narrowed his eyes and looked at Blaise.

"Maybe she is finally went shopping?" Blaise suggested. "She has been going on and on about updating her wardrobe."

Draco nodded.

"She'll be here soon," Theo said confidently even though he looked nervous. Draco and Blaise mirrored his emotions. Just then, the whistle on the train blew and started moving. All three boys checked their watches to see that it was exactly 11 o'clock. Theo turned to look at the compartment door. Blaise stood up and stuck his head out into the hallway. When he came back in he shook his head.

"There are still a shitload of people out there," he said. "She might just be stuck in the traffic."

Draco nodded as Theo said, "Exploding Snap then boys?"

He pulled out his deck and they agreed to play.

The three of them had just finished their second game when the compartment door flew open behind them. They all turned around, startled but wands up.

"There you bloody lot are!" Pansy yelled. She too had her wand in her hand but she wasn't pointing it at them. They all breathed sighs of relief as they crowded her with hugs. She returned it before pushing them away and continuing.

"Bloody typical of you bastards to choose a compartment in the back of the bloody train! Never mind that your best friend will have to spend a good half an hour trying to find your asses all while in a new pair of heels!"

Blaise shot Draco an _I-told-you-so_ look while Pansy went on.

"Never mind that I also had to put up with the fucking stares and whispering. A bloody Gryffindor fourth year even tried to throw a bloody hex my way. Of course, I just hit him with a bodybind nonverbally," she said as she threw herself graciously on the seat. She took a deep breath while her best friends tried to stifle their laughs. "Do you know how long it took us to find you?"

Draco started laughing but then stopped himself. "Wait, us?"

Pansy smiled. Not her typical smirk, but an actual smile. Draco exchanged uneasy looks with Blaise and Theo while Pansy stood up and walked back out of the compartment. The boys stood there bewildered. Draco was about to move to follow her just as she appeared again but this time with someone on her arm. It was a girl. She had beautiful golden blonde hair cascading down her back. She was slightly tanner than Draco remembered. Her green eyes were bright with tears as she gripped Pansy's arm. She looked beautiful, but more importantly, she looked safe and healthy.

"Daph…" Theo breathed. Draco turned to see his best friend starting with his mouth slightly open. Daphne nodded her head at Theo. Draco heard Theo drop his wand and deck of exploding snap as he pushed his way past Blaise and Draco to Daphne. As soon as he got close, he grabbed her hands from Pansy and held them.

"Are you okay?" he whispered to her scanning her body for any injuries.

"Yes." She said, tears streaming down her face. "Theo," she grabbed his face with her hands to stop him from fidgeting. "I am okay."

Theo stared at her for a couple moments before pulling her towards him, capturing her lips with his in a heated kiss. Draco looked away and towards Blaise, who was smiling at the scene before he turned to Draco.

"Finally…" Pansy mouthed to them. They laughed softly as they watch her realize that the kissing pair blocked her path of getting back into the compartment. She stood staring at them for a couple moments in hope they would break apart. When they didn't, Pansy cleared her throat loudly. They continued kissing as if they did not hear anything.

"Oi!" Pansy said loudly, an annoyed glare gracing her face. Reluctantly the couple broke apart. Theo grinned at Daphne before turning to face their friends once more.

"Sorry guys."

"'S alright mate," Blaise replied. "Is it okay if I hug Daph now?"

They all laughed as Daphne hugged Blaise tightly before turning to Draco.

"Drake," she said as she pulled him into a tight hug as well. "Thank you so much."

"There is no reason to thank me Daph," Draco replied pulling out of her hug. He kept his arms on her shoulders as he said: "I did what I needed to do."

Daphne waved her hand to dismiss his words.

"No Draco, we are so grateful for everything," she said as she took a seat between Pansy and Theo. Theo instantly reached over to hold her hand. She sent him a smile as she held on to his hand tightly.

"Where's Astoria?" Draco asked looking around for Daphne's younger sister.

"She saw some of her friends on the platform and ran off to be with them," Daphne responded. Draco nodded at her response. Pansy turned to Daphne and began questioning her about life in France. Draco knew that the details would be farce because even though they were in a different country, they still were careful not to step out of the house very often.

He had sent Daphne, Astoria, and their mother into hiding at his mother's familial house in southern France after Daphne had revealed to them that her father was plotting to kill her mother and his daughters as a sacrifice to the Dark Lord. Draco scoffed thinking about it now. All the Death Eaters in the Inner Circle went out of their fucking minds thinking that Voldemort actually cared about that shit. His father thought that way, Pansy's father, Blaise's mother, not to mention Theo's father as well.

He glanced at Theo, who seemed to be soaking in Daphne's every word. Having Daphne leave during the most difficult time in his life was hard on him. Although he and Daphne were never officially together, they had this kind of intense bond. It was like they understood each other on a level no one else did. They were always so in sync with each other. Draco had witnessed their tearful goodbye which included their profession of love. It was one of the hardest things he had ever had to witness. However, it only makes this reunion happier. They all deserved their happy endings. They had each witnessed terrible things. Theo lost his sister and mother. Pansy had to be the ever faithful daughter to her insane father who did not hesitate to use his want to get the point across. She also lost her mother. Blaise and Draco were both used as target practice for the Unforgivables cast by their parents. Draco was pulled from his thoughts as the compartment boomed with laughter. He looked around at his best friends and saw them all smiling. _Yes_ , he thought, _they all needed happiness now._


	4. Chapter 4

Hermione felt a bit crowded in the small compartment. She was sitting between Harry and Ginny with Neville next to Harry. On the other side sat Ron, Luna, Dean, Seamus, and Parvati. At the moment Ron, Seamus, Harry, and Ginny were arguing about Quidditch.

"The Cannons can do it this year. I can feel it," Ron said. Harry laughed before replying.

"No one is going to beat the Falcons, especially not the way they've been playing in pre-season."

"I agree with Harry, mate," Seamus said in his Irish brogue.

"Well, you guys know that I am impartial to the Harpies," Ginny started. "But I actually believe the Catapults could make a run for the championship."

That statement got both Seamus and Ron riled up as they began arguing louder. Hermione met the eyes of Luna and saw that even she was irked as she rolled her eyes. Dean noticed this and reached over to hold her hand. Hermione saw Neville's eyes trained on Luna and Dean's intertwined hands. He sighed before turning to look out the window. She smiled sadly as the situation before she reached into her bag to pull out her new book on Vampires in Siberia. She had been dying to get it started and now seemed as perfect time as any because of the current conversation. As she started the first chapter, she heard Dean's voice break the argument.

"Mates," he said over the noise. "Can't we talk about something that interests all of us? Look, Hermione's taken her book out! You know we lose her as soon as that happens!"

They all laughed at the reality of the situation as Hermione sent Dean a playful glare. But soon she was laughing along with them, book forgotten for now. Once they calmed down, Harry apologized for the Quidditch talk.

"You better be sorry," Parvati said, looking up from the new issue of _The Quibbler_ (the cover was plastered with images of Nargles, or so Luna said). "I'm not here to listen to you lot talk about Quidditch all year."

Hermione nodded along with her statement.

"I didn't think we would even be here at all," Ginny admitted. "I didn't think the school would be opening so soon."

"Well remember the repairs started right after the battle," Hermione reminded.

"But it'll be hard, won't it?" Luna said somberly, a break from her usual dreamy voice. "Everywhere I walk, I'll be thinking of someone I saw murdered in that exact same spot."

The compartment quieted down as they all took in the reality of the situation.

"I think it's best to remember," Harry sighed. "I don't think we should forget those things. We aren't going to ignore what was done and who was killed. We're going back to school because we need to move on with our lives. The only way to really honor those who were killed during the war is to ensure that we honor _why_ they died. They died for a better world…A world that we are now getting ready to step into."

Hermione smiled sadly at Harry's words. She looked around the compartment noticing that everyone was letting his words sink in. She wondered if Harry knew that he would always be a leader to their group of friends. She would even go as far as the entirety of the Wizarding community. If he did know, then he probably hated the burden. But she knew that it was inevitable for everyone to look at Harry through times of distress. He was, for lack of a better term, the savior of the Wizarding World. He will always be held at a higher regard. She supposed Ron and she will be as well, but it would never be to the caliber of Harry.

"So I saw Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass as I was making my way over here," Seamus said breaking the somber silence. Hermione felt Harry stiffen next to her. She looked curiously at him but his blank gaze was trained on Seamus.

"So?" Ron snorted.

"Well, I didn't think the Slytherins were back," Seamus said. "I thought they wouldn't want to come back after everything."

"Wait," Harry said. "Greengrass? Are you sure?"

Ron sent him an odd look as Seamus nodded.

"I have to admit though," Seamus began, laughing lightly. "They were looking fit."

Ron snorted even louder. "You must be blowing your top, Finnegan."

"Hey, I know they're Slytherins mate but-"

Harry turned to Hermione and Ginny while Seamus and Ron carried on their conversation.

"I thought the Greengrasses were dead," he whispered.

Hermione shook her head. "It was never confirmed."

"Do you think they went into hiding?" Ginny asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Harry replied. "Malfoy might've done that one as well-"The rest of Harry's sentence was cut off by Ron's brash yell towards Seamus.

"They ARE bloody Slytherins," he said, red in the face. "You can't find them fit! Their kind killed Fred!"

Ron was now on his feet glaring down at Seamus who looked confused at the harsh reaction from his friend. Harry jumped up and pulled Ron back. Ginny also stood, glaring at Ron.

"Ron," Harry said, pushing his friend back. "Calm down."

"What the fuck is the matter with you?" Ginny yelled. Her eyes shining with tears of anger as she glared at her brother. Ron looked taken aback at the sight of Ginny yelling at him. Hermione was as well. She was known for her fiery temper but she hadn't lashed out at her family much since the war. In fact, they all grew closer since the death of Fred. Hermione saw Parvati close _The Quibbler_ and sat up straighter to take in the drama. Everyone's eyes in the compartment were trained on the youngest Weasleys.

"Gin, don't tell me you're on his side," Ron started. "The Slytherins are evil! Fred-they…"

"Don't you dare Ronald," Ginny seethed, her voice low and quivering. "It was thinking like this that started the war. I am sick of you and mom using Fred as a reason to fuel your hatred."

"Mom is right!" Ron yelled back. "She knows what their side did to Fred."

"Mom doesn't know how to heal from losing her son!" Ginny shot as she took a step towards Ron. "She needs therapy. George and Bill are going convince her to go. You, yourself, said that therapy helped!"

"That still doesn't make a difference!" Ron said as his face got redder. "Their side still did it!"

"The world is not black and white!" Ginny responded heatedly. "There are shades of gray in between. Don't judge the Slytherins for the things that their parents did!"

"Ginny…"Harry warned sensing where the conversation was headed.

"No Harry!" Ginny yelled turning to face her ex; her voice now breaking with the tears flowing freely. "I am sick of him. I am sick of his attitude. And I am sick of him bringing up Fred whenever convenient for him to hate the Slytherins. He needs to know."

Hermione stood up behind Ginny; she grabbed her hand in support and turned to Harry. "She's right."

Harry looked at the two girls who he cared so deeply for in front of him. They stood hand in hand, waiting for him to make a decision. He knew that there was no point in fighting them. They would win in the end anyway. They always did. Finally, he nodded.

"Do you want us to leave?" Luna offered. Parvati shot her a glare, not wanting to miss out on the drama.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I want you all to stay. I think this will help with the hostility and tension the war has created."

Harry made them all sit back down. It took a lot more to get Ron to sit.

"What's going on?" he asked. "What's wrong with the three of you?"

"We are going to tell you, just sit down," Harry said seriously. Ron wasn't happy with his best friend's response and sat down angrily.

"First, nothing's wrong," Harry started. "There are just some things that happened during the war that no one knows about. We want to share that with you."

Hermione looked around the compartment. She trusted everyone in here, even Parvati. She knew the only person Partvati would gossip to now was her sister, Padma, but Padma would never engage in telling anyone else.

"You guys have been keeping things from me?" Ron said his voice now soft and laced with hurt. "And how the hell does Ginny know?"

"No Ron," Hermione said. "We have not been keeping anything from you. There was just never a good time to share it. Ginny only knows because I told her. I broke down the night after the battle and told her everything we went through."

Ron nodded, satisfied with her answer. "Fine, go on then."

Harry looked at Hermione unsure where to start. She gave him an encouraging smile. He returned it before turning back to their friends.

"Okay, so what we are about to tell you was discovered completely on accident. We think that Kingsley is the only Order member who knows. Actually, McGonagall might know as well. We don't want you guys telling anyone else. We're only telling you so we can help put an end to the hostility. We should be the ones to show the younger years that the war has changed for the better."

Harry paused as they all nodded in understanding. Ron leaned forward putting his forearms on his knees, ready to listen intently. If therapy had helped anything, it was that Ron now better at listening.

"So it started the night before Bill and Fleur's wedding. Hermione and I had gone to Grimmauld Place so we can search the library for some Dark Arts books. We asked you to come, Ron, remember? But you said you'll keep watch?" Ron nodded, remembering the night.

"Well Hermione and I had gone, and while we were there we heard someone apparate into the house. Although we knew it was an Order member, we still got under the invisibility cloak since they were all so against us leaving. Anyway, Kingsley had walked in and right after we heard two more pops. It was Tonks and Malfoy."

Ron narrowed his eyes in confusion as Luna and Parvati gasped. Dean, Seamus, and Neville all had shocked expressions on their faces.

"Basically," Hermione continued for Harry. "It was a meeting. Kingsley asked for information, Draco responded. The Order, or rather, Kingsley, Tonks, and Remus were corresponding with Draco, Blaise, Pansy, and Theo. They were spies for the Order."

"If that's true, then why didn't the whole Order know?" Ron asked, skeptical.

"Kingsley had said that the Order and some of its members would not have responded well to them showing up and claiming to have switched sides," Harry answered.

Ginny snorted and glared at her brother. Her tears were now gone, but she was still mad as hell, "I wonder why they would think that."

Before Ron could respond, Seamus spoke up. "But how do we know that they were actually on our side?"

Harry looked at Hermione signaling for her to answer. She took a deep breath and began:

"Well, when we were taken to Malfoy Manor, something happened," she said softly. She had only ever talked to Ginny and Harry about that night and it was still incredibly difficult to do so. "Bellatrix wanted to question me about the sword. When the first Crucio hit, I fell back painfully. I felt like a thousand knives were all stabbing me. It was the worst pain of my life. But then I felt a new wave of magic wash over me."

She got up to walk around the compartment as she continued talking just so she could have something to do that distracted her.

"The way that I was angled on the floor, I was directly facing Draco. He was gripping the back of a chair. He had his wand in his hand and I instantly knew that he had cast a spell nonverbally to protect me. We made eye contact and I felt him penetrate my mind. My walls were down. I was incredibly drained from the spell so I couldn't fight it. But he told me to act. He said I needed to act like I was still feeling everything. He left my mind quickly and I did what he said."

When Hermione finished, no one in the compartment moved. She wondered if anyone was still breathing. Ron's mouth was hanging open.

"Bloody hell" he breathed.

"You're a damn good actor, Hermione," Dean said, looking shaken. He was in the Malfoy dungeon that day.

Hermione smiled sadly, "Yes, well it was still a horrible experience. Draco made it tolerable. The scars may still be there, but the pain was gone."

"The point is," Harry continued taking a seat in Hermione's abandoned one. "We know that they were on our side. They've shown it and we've seen it. They don't need nor deserve the hatred that they receive." He was solely looking at Ron. Ron nodded and swallowed loudly.

"Bloody hell mate, you should have told me," he said. "I mean, I understand why you didn't, but I feel terrible. The things they must have gone through."

Harry nodded, but stayed silent. Hermione could tell that his mind was preoccupied. She knew that she would have to ask him if something was bothering him later.

"I can't say that I will automatically be friendly to them, especially Malfoy," Ron continued. "But I can make sure that no one gives them a hard time."

"Well, they can take care of themselves clearly," Harry responded. "We don't need to protect them. We, ourselves, just need to stop perpetuating the hate."

Ron nodded in understanding. "It's just hard." He whispered, his voice cracking a little. "Recovering, all of it. It's hard."

Ginny stood and made her way to her older brother. She engulfed him in a hug as soon as she was close enough.

"We never said that wasn't hard," she said, her voice set in a comforting tone. "We just don't want to make it harder on other people."

Ron nodded as he returned her hug. Hermione knew how hard it has been for Ron in the aftermath of the war. He and George had taken therapy classes at St. Mungo's to help deal with it all. As Ginny said, they were currently all trying to get to start attending them too.

There were a couple moments of silence as Ginny made her way back to her seat. Luna cleared her throat and started humming a song that sounded vaguely like the Hogwarts school song. All eyes turned to her, but she just kept humming louder and louder. Hermione was the first to break, her laughter filling the quiet compartment. Parvati soon followed. One by one, they all broke the tense feeling of the compartment, engulfed in bouts of laughter.

The compartment was bustling with different conversations by the time the train slowed to a stop. Hermione gathered all of her belongings as she followed Ginny out of the train. After saying hello to Hagrid, they all made their way to the carriages. Once they were seated, Ginny turned to Hermione.

"Do you think it will be this way all year?" she asked. Hermione looked at her confused. Ginny nodded her head in the direction of the crowd of students making their way to their carriages. Many of them were gawking at the carriage filled with Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and Ron. Harry squirmed in his seat, uncomfortable with all the looks. Ron just kept his gaze down, the conversation from the compartment obviously still in his head. Hermione turned back to Ginny and shrugged.

"I really hope it doesn't stay this way," she whispered.

"Do you want me to tell them to fuck off? It would definitely scare them enough to stop for the next couple of days."

"Ginny!" Hermione gasped while holding in her laughter. "No! They are just children."

Ginny shrugged as if to say _don't-say-I-didn't-ask_ and leaned back in her seat. Hermione, still quietly laughing at her best friend's antics started looking through the crowd of students. Many of them seemed extremely young and innocent. But she was able to find the occasional student who looked like she did, like they had been through a war.

Suddenly, she spotted that familiar blonde hair, which recently has been making her stomach do somersaults whenever she thought of it. He was with his group of friends as they made their way to an empty carriage. She watched as he helped Pansy up and then heaved himself up after. Hermione found herself taking in all of his features. His skin looked a lot healthier than the last time she saw him in the Ministry at the start of summer. It was still pale but Hermione found no fault in that. He had his hair styled messily, as if he just rolled out of bed. It was still short, but no longer gelled back. She liked this change. She also noticed that he looked a little more muscular than the last time she saw him. She wondered if he had started playing Quidditch during the summer as Ron, Harry, and Ginny had done.

Her gaze slowly moved across his features until she reached those stormy gray eyes. She was shocked to see that he was staring straight back at her. She hoped her shock did not show. She didn't look away. His gaze was intimate yet intense. It was like they were both having internal struggles about what they were currently doing. Hermione did not want to be the first to look away but then she felt Harry stiffen suddenly next to her. Nervous, that he might have seen her and Malfoy, she quickly turned to look at him only to find his gaze on the same carriage she had just been looking at. She could not figure out why he had reacted the way he did. She looked at her best friend with scrutiny before daring another look into the carriage again. Draco was now deep in conversation with Zabini. Before she could stare any more, her carriage started moving.

"Creepy looking things aren't they?" Ron said somberly as he gazed at the Thestrals pulling their carriage

"Yes," Hermione answered.

"Was this a good idea?" Ron questioned looking at his two best friends and his sister. "Coming back….was it a good idea?"

Hermione leaned over and grabbed his hand. "It will be okay, Ron. This is for the best. It will be hard, but no one is denying that. It is expected."

Ron nodded as he let go of her hand and leaned back. Just as he did, the castle came into sight. Hermione was captivated by the beautiful structure. It was fully rebuilt. There also seemed to be a strong magical aura resonating around it. She felt tears prickled her eyes as she watched it. Her last memory of the castle was seeing it in flames

"It looks incredible," Harry said his voice thick.

"I can't believe how much they were able to do," Ron replied.

Hermione listened to her friends speak of the castle as the approached. She remembered reading in the Daily Prophet that there were many donations made to rebuilding of the castle. But it was still amazing to her how much was able to get done in such a short period of time. The conversation halted as the carriage slowed to a stop. Hermione followed her friends as they made their way to the Great Hall.

Every so often a memory of the war would hit Hermione, but she pushed it from her mind. She noticed that Harry had his eyes down casted, Ron seemed to be holding his breath, and Ginny had fresh tears threatening to fall. Hermione held Ginny's hand and gave it a squeeze. Ginny turned and sent a smile.

"Talk to them," she whispered. "I'll be okay. I'll save you guys a seat."

Hermione nodded as she watched Ginny follow the crowd. She then grasped both of her best friends' hands and pulled them into an empty corridor. She ignored their surprised looks.

"Look you two," Hermione start, her voice firm but gentle. "I know this is hard. I know we're all still recovering, but we can do this. We have each other."

She looked as their expressions changed from shock to doubt. She grabbed their hands again and continued,

"Yes, everywhere we go we will be reminded of something that happened that day. I know that I can't walk through the 7th floor corridor without thinking of Fred. Or walk through the Great Hall without thinking of Remus and Tonks lying there. And I definitely will be thinking of Lavender every time I pass the Charms classroom. But, I want you guys to remember that we spent the previous six years in these hallways making great memories.

I read once that it takes 5 good memories to outdo one bad one. We have 6 years of memories to outdo one bad night. So instead of thinking about memories from that night, we should think about Fred and George's fireworks display in the courtyard or Remus and Tonks declaring their love for each other in the hospital wing. Hell, Ron, think about all the places you and Lavender snogged!"

She smiled as she finally got them to laugh.

"We can do this, we have each other." She finished.

Ron leaned against the wall and nodded in agreement as Harry pulled Hermione into a hug.

"You're right, as always," he said. "We can definitely do this."

"I know we can," Hermione responded ending the hug. "Now let's go. I don't want to miss the sorting ceremony. The boys nodded and followed her into the Great Hall. Hermione halted her steps as she moved through the Hall. It looked magnificent. The floating candles were sleeker and straight, the bewitched sky seemed to cover more of the ceiling. The walls were lined with portraits of famous Hogwarts alumni. It was not much change but just enough to make a difference. Ginny waved the Trio over and as they slid into their seats, they knew they were ready to take this year on.


	5. Chapter 5

"Draco," Pansy said. "Can you help me up?"

She gestured to the carriage. He nodded and held his hand out for her to support herself. Once she was on, he helped himself up. Pansy scooted over as Daphne slid into the spot next to her.

"So," Daphne whispered. "What did I miss?"

"Daph," Pansy laughed lightly. "I hardly think we will get all caught up on this carriage ride."

"Well that's true, but I missed you so much and we didn't have much time to catch up this morning."

"I know," Pansy replied. "I know that you leaving was the best decision for you and your family, but you have no idea how hard it was to deal with these three on my own."

Daphne laughed at the reality of the statement, before: "You know I wanted to stay with you guys, Pans."

"I know Daph."

Daphne smiled as she looked at Blaise and Theo who were discussing Quidditch across the carriage. Theo seemed to say something amusing which made Blaise laugh hard.

"Not much has changed, has it?" Daphne asked looking at Blaise and Theo adoringly.

Pansy smiled sadly before replying, "Everything has changed."

Daphne turned to look at her, silently telling her to continue. Pansy just shook her head. She was not ready to discuss it all. She knew that she would inevitably tell Daphne everything that happened when the time was right, but now was not that time. That time may be tonight when they have time alone together, but the carriage ride did not give them the privacy that Pansy needed to unload her feelings. Daphne seemed to understand as she reached over and grasped Pansy's hand. Pansy happily held on to it as she looked out the carriage at all the students making their way to their own carriages. She noticed some were sending her hateful looks so she put on her best Pansy glare in return. She looked back into her own carriage at Daphne to see her still smiling fondly at Theo and Blaise.

"Are you okay?" Pansy asked.

Daphne nodded. "I am just so happy to be back,"

Pansy smiled at her as she looked around the carriage. It was amazing to have all her friends with her once more. Blaise, no longer talking to Theo, was now staring intently at the Thestral pulling their carriage, his gaze far off. Pansy looked at the creature as well. It shocked her when she realized that she was able to see veiny creature, but she found them quite beautiful in a haunting way.

Tearing her gaze away from the creature, she looked back at her friends in the carriage. Theo was now leaning over and speaking in soft tones to Daphne who was giggling lightly. Pansy was very happy or the two of them. Daphne was inconsolable when her family had to go into hiding. Leaving Theo was the hardest thing for her to do. She did not want to leave her friends behind, but her mother refused to leave without her. Daphne's father was so deep into the ideas of Voldemort which made him a violent and scary man. After a night of abuse, Daphne's mother approached her and told her that she did not feel safe in England and needed to get out. Scared, Daphne spoke to her best friends about her plan to take her mother to their summer home in Spain. They had all immediately protested knowing that Daphne's father would be able to figure out pretty quickly where they had disappeared. It was Draco's idea to send the Greengrasses to France at his mother's familial home. The five of them had gone before Daphne's family was set to move and they set up all kinds of wards and charms on the house. Daphne was gone two weeks later.

Pansy had missed Daphne during the war. Sure, the boys were her brothers, but there's nothing like having a girl best friend. Daphne understood things hat the boys could never. Pansy was definitely happy to have her sister back.

As the carriage started moving, Pansy leaned back in her seat to get a better look at Draco. But his attention was not on anyone in their carriage. Instead his intense gaze seemed to be locked in on another carriage. Pansy followed his eyes and saw the object of his gaze. The carriage was full of Granger, two Weasleys, and Potter. Pansy smirked as she saw Granger staring directly back at Draco. She gave it two months. Two months and those two would be all over each other, if they could get over their stubbornness and stop fighting their feelings. They had all been furious at the stunt Draco pulled at the Manor. He had risked everything in that one moment trying to save Granger. Pansy had not understood at the time, but now she knew just how important it was to protect people, especially during the war. She shifted her scrutiny slightly from Granger and her deep eye eyes clashed with bright green. She saw Potter stiffen. She smiled shyly as she looked away. She could feel the heat brush against her cheeks. She did not know why this man, yes man now, made her blush. She did not like looking vulnerable to anyone. But somehow she found herself often thinking about Potter and his green eyes and the night that he saw her at her most vulnerable. That night that she stared deeply into them was a night etched in her memory. She did not understand what had passed between them that night. And she definitely did not know why she couldn't get him out of her mind. It haunted her every night, both good and bad.

 _Pansy was scared, standing in line in the Great Hall. She had a dreadful feeling. She knew that this was it. Snape was standing in the front. He looked calm, but Pansy knew him well enough to know that he was scared as well. She grasped Blaise's hand. He squeezed it in return, and then leaned over to whisper,_

 _"_ _Tell Draco and Theo."_

 _Pansy nodded slightly. Just as reached for her Protean charmed necklace to alert Draco and Theo, Potter stepped forward. Pansy had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at his dramatics. Draco and Theo forgotten, Pansy watched as the events unfolded. He had accused Snape of killing Dumbledore. Before Snape could respond, Voldemort's voice suddenly boomed through the castle. Pansy stumbled and fell back into Blaise._

 _"_ _Pansy," Blaise said sharply as he caught her. "Now!"_

 _She gripped her necklace and thought one word:_ _ **war.**_

 _Almost immediately the necklace went hot. The words were small and rushed, but Pansy understood._

 _"_ _ **Need more time. We're not done. Distraction."**_

 _By the time the message was gone, the Great Hall was silent. So Pansy did what Draco wanted. It was stupid but Draco needed time to help his mother without his father noticing._

 _"_ _He's there! Someone grab him!"_

 _Her words rung through the hall, the corridor, and through the castle. Kingsley gave her a surprised look. Tonks just smiled. She must have known about Draco's plan. Potter's look was the worst. It looked confused, torn, hurt. Pansy wanted to tell him, it was a tactic but she did not know how. Then She-Weasel placed herself in front of him and all those thoughts left Pansy's mind. She was hardly paying attention when McGonagall said her name and something about the dungeons. The Slytherins were then pushed through the crowd. Just as they were almost to the dungeon, Blaise grasped Pansy's hand and pulled her into a small corridor._

 _"_ _Good job," he said earnestly. Pansy nodded, tears in her eyes._

 _"_ _Pans," Blaise continued. When she did not respond, he grabbed her shoulders. "Pansy"_

 _She looked up at him, eyes bright. She could not believe that this was happening now. She knew the end was near, but there was a lot of fighting and blood ahead._

 _"_ _Do you think they are going to make it?" she asked Blaise, her voice breaking slightly. She was scared of losing anyone._

 _"_ _Yes" Blaise said confidently. "It probably took a long time to get away from the Manor. And who knows how long it took them to get Narcissa to Andromeda.."_

 _"_ _I just want them to be careful. I don't want our parents to find out tonight."_

 _"_ _Hey," Blaise said pulling her close to him. "They won't. We will survive and they will be locked up. We won't have to worry about anything anymore."_

 _Pansy nodded, not completely convinced but quietly hoping he was telling the truth. Just then a boom sounded through the castle. Blaise's expression turned serious._

 _"_ _It's time," Pansy nodded, brushed her tears away and reached under her school skirt to pull her wand out of its holster as Blaise and her both moved to go opposite directions. Blaise grabbed her hand before she got too far. Pansy turned back to look at him._

 _"_ _Don't die, Pans."_

 _"_ _I won't. See you soon Blaise." She squeezed his hand as she turned to leave. She hated goodbyes. But this was not a goodbye. As she walked through the halls she mentally prepared herself for what was about to happen. She was going to fight for the Light, but only until she saw her father. She will openly fight on the side of the Light. The Battle was well on its way as Pansy made her way upstairs. She dodged a couple jinxes and threw more curses. But her main priority was getting the younger students out. She wanted them safe. She spotted some students crouching down behind a statue. Cautiously, she approached them knowing that they'd be skeptical of her._

 _"_ _Hi," she said crouching down to their level. "Let's get out of here, okay?"_

 _They looked at her with wide eyes and nodded their heads. She held her hand out and they grabbed on._

 _The Room of Requirement seemed to be where everyone was leading the younger students through so she followed at a distance behind Longbottom who had his own group. As they approached the door, Pansy knelt back down to the children._

 _"_ _Just follow your classmates," she told them. They nodded and ran to follow their fellow classmates. Just as Pansy turned to leave she was blinded by pink._

 _"_ _Pansy!" Tonks said as she gripped her arms around her. Pansy eagerly returned the hug as she recognized the voice._

 _"_ _What were you thinking?!" Tonks said angrily as she pushed her away._

 _Shocked, Pansy replied. "What?"_

 _"_ _Your little stunt in the Great Hall," Tonks said._

 _"_ _Draco told me that he needed time so I did the first thing I could think of!" Pansy replied._

 _Tonks sighed. "That's what I thought. Well I will keep an eye out for them. Have you seen Remus?"_

 _Pansy shook her head._

 _"_ _Okay, don't die Pansy." Tonks said as she moved to follow the sound of an explosion on the far side of the castle._

 _"_ _You too," Pansy replied. She had grown very close to Tonks in their time as spies. Tonks smiled at her and ran away. Pansy turned the other way and ran as well. She threw spells at every Death Eater she saw. She was running to find Draco and Theo when she felt a spell hit her ribs. Turning, she froze in fear as she recognized her father's mask, but his attention was not on her. It was on messy, black haired boy who was supposed to save them all. She saw her father raise his wand and point it directly at Potter. Not wanting Potter to die, Pansy raised her wand and shouted. "Protego!"_

 _She then turned and hid behind a wall before her father could see her. After a few moments, she moved from behind the pillar and went back on her search for Draco and Theo. She failed to notice green eyes looking at her suspiciously._

 _The battle had lasted well into the next morning. By the time it was over, Pansy was huddled with Blaise, Theo, and Draco just outside the Great Hal. They were all bruised and wounded but they knew there was nowhere for them to be treated. That was why they were all huddled around Pansy. She was performing healing spells as fast as she could. It was one of her many talents. She had just finished all she could with Theo when Draco said:_

 _'_ _Who is going to do Pansy?"_

 _Any other time, one of the boys would make a crude joke but none were feeling in a particularly good mood. Blaise was just about to volunteer when Pansy cut him off._

 _"_ _I can handle it," she assured them. When all three started to protest she raised her hand to stop them._

 _"_ _Boys," she said with the confidence they were used to her having. "I've got it."_

 _They looked skeptical but she smiled at them._

 _"_ _Don't worry; go find a place to rest. We will go to Draco's after." She said. Draco looked at her worriedly and pulled her into a hug._

 _"_ _You need to rest as well Pans," he said as the other two nodded._

 _"_ _I will. Now, go," she said pulling out of the hug._

 _The three boys nodded and turned towards the dungeons. They knew that no one would be there and so they could rest easily in beds that they are comfortable in._

 _Pansy let out the shaky breath that she was holding once they disappeared. She felt the lump in her throat rise. Her vision became cloudy. She shut her eyes tightly, turned and made her way rapidly to her favorite spot in the castle. She hated crying in public. She hated crying at all. But she realized that she had cried too many times to count the last three years. She climbed the stairs through the rubble of the aftermath of the battle. She finally reached her destination, the Bell Towers._

 _When she reached the top of the tower she saw one entire tower was blown off. Seeing her favorite spot so broken broke her. That's when everything hit her: the deaths, the injuries, her father, everything… she ignored her body as it was protesting in pain for her to stop as she slid down the wall. She felt wounds open up more, she felt her broken bones rub against each other, but she didn't care. She pulled her knees to her chest and let it all out. She knew she was making hideous noises. She knew her face was probably red and splotchy. But everything seemed so small to the feeling of emptiness inside her._

 _After a couple minutes of letting it out, her breathing calmed and while the tears were still flowing, they were silent. Pansy looked up and out at the view. The Bell Towers overlooked the courtyard and Herbology green houses. Pansy was staring at a dead giant when there was a sound behind her. She jumped slightly and turned around._

 _It was Potter. He kicked a piece of rubble on the stairs before ascending further. He stopped when he saw her sitting on the ground. He returned her gaze and grimaced slightly whether because he realized it was her or from any pain he was feeling, she did not know._

 _After a few moments, he looked away and moved to sit on the floor a few feet away from her. Pansy was surprised but tried not to show it. She just continued looking at him. He looked a fright. He was covered in a mixture of dirt, blood, and sweat. His hair was messier than usual. His green eyes were masked through his tired bags underneath. Potter looked up at her as he felt her gaze. He quirked on eyebrow but she turned away. She heard him clear his throat. She froze realizing that might want to start a conversation. She immediately starts looking at the stairs wondering if her body would allow her to move quickly so she could escape conversation._

 _"_ _Are you alright?" He asked still not looking at her._

 _She scoffed at the stupidity of his question. Of course she wasn't okay. She knew he wasn't either._

 _"_ _Just fine," she replied scathingly. He stiffened and looked down. She supposed that she should feel sorry but she didn't say anything._

 _"_ _Parkinson," Potter said. She turned to look at him to see that he was staring right at her._

 _"_ _What?" she questioned._

 _"_ _Why did you do what you did in the Great Hall?"_

 _She froze. She didn't know what to say or how to respond. She thought back to Kingsley's words about how no one in the Order would react kindly to them switching sides._

 _"_ _I said what I said," she replied still holding his gaze._

 _"_ _Pansy," he said firmly. She was shocked at the use of her first name. "I know you guys were fighting for us."_

 _She could tell that he was telling the truth, but she had no idea how he knew._

 _"_ _Yes, well, I'm sorry Potter," she replied evenly. "I had to help my friends and I did the first thing that came to my mind."_

 _He nodded in understanding and didn't question her further. They sat in silence for a couple more moments until:_

 _"_ _Parksinson, by the way, thank you," he said._

 _She looked at him confused._

 _"_ _I know it was you," he said staring into her blue eyes._

 _"_ _I don't know what you're talking about Potter," she replied returning his gaze._

 _Potter laughed lightly._

 _"_ _I knew you wouldn't acknowledge it, but thank you. If you hadn't casted that Protego that Death Eater's spell would have killed me."_

 _She looked away as he realized what he was talking about. She didn't realize he had seen her._

 _"_ _It wouldn't have killed you Potter," she replied. She looked him to see him smiling. Realizing her mistake, she glared at him._

 _"_ _Alright, it was me," she admitted. "But I only did it because the Death Eater attacking you was my father. Plus we needed you to be our fucking savior."_

 _Potter laughed._

 _"_ _Thank you anyway," he said. She nodded. She moved to stretch her legs out when she felt the pain. She involuntarily yelped out when she felt the pain. Potter was quick to make his way over._

 _"_ _Are you hurt?" he asked looking her over. She stared icily at him._

 _"_ _I'm fine Potter." She pulled her wand out of the holster on her thigh. "I can handle myself. I'm actually quite gifted in healing spells."_

 _"_ _I never said you weren't. I just know that it is better to have someone else heal you." She looked at him, surprised that he was offering to help._

 _"_ _Okay," she said. He froze realizing that she was accepting his help. He took his wand out._

 _"_ _Where does it hurt?"_

 _She took a deep breath and pulled her shirt up to show him her ribs. It was now a purple color._

 _"_ _Can I touch it? To see if it's broken?" his voice soft._

 _She looked at him to see that his face was slightly red. She smirked as she nodded her head._

 _He put his cold hand onto the warm bruise. She pulled away quickly, shocked at the change of temperature. He mumbled an apology as he touched it again, softer, this time. He fingers traced the bruise to just below where her bra laid. Pansy looked up at him to find him staring straight back at her. His gaze soft, but sweltering, it was as if his green eyes were penetrating her deep blue ones. As if he was deep in thought….about her. He was the one to look away first. He cleared his throat as he brought his wand up again._

 _"_ _It's broken," he confirmed. "This might hurt."_

 _She nodded as he pointed the wand straight at her ribs. Two years ago, she would have thought this scenario comical, but war changes everyone._

 _Potter whispered a soft "epipsky" and Pansy felt her bones crack into place. She screamed as it happened. After a couple seconds, Pansy looked down at her ribs to find them still bruised, but no longer broken._

 _"_ _Anywhere else?" Potter asked. Pansy shook her head. She knew that was the only broken bones that she had. Everything else was cuts and bruises. She put her shirt back down and felt Potter plop down next to her. She turned to look at him._

 _"_ _Why are you helping me?" she asked softly, wondering if Kingsley told him. He just looked her straight into her eyes as he replied. "You're not one of the bad guys."_

Pansy's feelings for Potter became friendlier that night. She still thinks he can be extremely overdramatic, but anyone who is able to forgive someone for saying to give them up to the Dark Lord is okay in her book.

"Pansy, are you okay?" she turned to Draco who was looking at her quizzically.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" Blaise questioned. She turned to look at him and realized that Daphne and Theo were also looking at her.

"The battle," she said. She looked up at the castle as their carriage slowed to a stop. "Being back here just brings back all those memories."

"It's okay," Blaise said as they moved to step off the carriage. He held out his hand to Daphne to help her down and then held them out to Pansy. She grasped it and made her way down. "I'm pretty sure everyone is going to be thinking about that night."

Draco asked her once more if she was going to be okay.

"Yes, Drake," she replied. "I was just thinking about it. I am honestly okay. Let's just go to the feast. I'm craving some treacle tart."

She turned to make her way to the Great Hall before turning back and flashing a wink at Daphne who laughed. She allowed her eyes to seek out that unruly black hair once more before she turned back around and went about her way.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their reviews. Those reviews are what keeps me writing! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I struggled with it and rewrote it a couple times, but I hope you all enjoy it.**

Harry could feel all the eyes on him. If it were possible, he felt more like the center of attention now than ever. He was sandwiched between Hermione and Ron at the Gryffindor table. He stifled a yawn as Dean and Neville carried on a conversation about Herbology. Ron was anxiously waiting for the food to appear and Ginny and Hermione were deep in their own conversation.

Harry glanced around the Great Hall, noticing the atmosphere of the room. Everyone seemed to be at ease but also on the edge of the seats. Glancing over at the Slytherin table, he noticed that there were very few students sitting there. He wasn't surprised. Many of them probably didn't want to come back to school after the war. He had heard the stories from Kingsley and Mr. Weasley of those who were on Voldemort's side. They were having problems adapting to the new society. Everyone had noticed the switch of the social hierarchy after the war. If you previously thought that Muggle-borns were beneath you then you were automatically judged. You were called names and given no chance of redemption. Or at least some thought there was no chance of redemption.

The Ministry had started a therapy program for those who were part of the war to come to terms with their emotions and the situations they went through. Harry, Ron, and Hermione all went to these sessions separately to deal with their inner demons. But not every therapist was willing to serve every member of the wizarding community. Kingsley told Harry of one Pureblood who signed up for the program and went to the sessions only to be refused service. The therapist called the person a bigot and narrow-minded and had stated that they would never help their kind because of what happened in the war. Kingsley never told Harry who the person was that was refused the treatment and Harry never asked. All he knew was that no one deserved that kind of treatment. He had to deal with that his Fifth Year and he didn't wish it on anyone.

His head turned towards the door, just as Professor Flitwick was leading in the new group of First Years. His eyes widened as there seemed to be well over 50 of them. He leaned to the side to hear Hermione whisper to him:

"I thought people would've not wanted to send their children here after everything."

"Me too," he whispered back. "That's a lot of students."

She nodded in agreement quickly as she returned her attention to where Professor Flitwick was placing the Sorting Hat on the stool. The Hall quieted down, staring at the brim of the hat. It slowly cracked open and a loud voice boomed out, singing:

 _It's a new age._

 _Darkness is gone._

 _Time to turn the page_

 _Light has prevailed._

 _However, stories must still be told_

 _So we can succeed where our past has failed_

 _Let me tell you one now, one of old._

 _My owner Godric Gryffindor once had friend._

 _Salazar Slytherin_

 _Differing views brought that friendship to its dirty end._

 _Two of the Greatest Wizards could have changed the world together_

 _But they never settled the matter_

 _Let us not repeat old ways._

 _As said before, it's a new day_

 _So whether you be a Slytherin, a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, or Ravencalw_

 _There are no differences in you._

 _You've saved the world once more_

 _All of you_

 _Great things can happen together_

 _Do not repeat the mistakes of days gone by._

 _Let it be your battle cry!_

 _Yes, gone are the days of sin._

 _Now let the Sorting begin!_

Harry clapped along with the rest of the students.

"Laying on the optimism pretty thick, isn't it?" Ron said above the applause, seemingly amused by the hat.

Harry and Hermione laughed in agreement as the sorting ceremony began. Harry watched absentmindedly, clapping along with his fellow Gryffindors whenever they received a new house member.

During the middle of the ceremony Harry noticed a worried look on Hermione's face.

"What's wrong?"

"Look at the Slytherin table," Hermione said gesturing. He leaned a little to his side to see. The first years were sitting, huddled towards the beginning of the table, frightened expressions on their faces.

"Why do they look so scared?" Harry inquired.

Hermione sent him a curious look before replying, "I think it's the connotation of the Slytherin House. Can you imagine how they must be feeling?" Harry looked quizzically at her, encouraging her to continue. "They are automatically going to be ridiculed and marginalized."

He nodded as he understood what she was getting at.

"What are we going to do?" he asked seriously, not want any tension for the younger years as they were still only children.

"I have a couple ideas," Hermione said. "But I'll have to run it past Professor McGonagall."

Harry nodded and turned to the front where Professor McGonagall was starting to stand.

"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts," she said smiling fondly at the students. "I know we have endured a couple of rough years, but now it is time to get our education back on track. But first, let us enjoy our meal."

With that, she sat back down.

Harry looked in the front of him to see the plates magically fill up with food. He heard the gasps of admiration and surprise from the first years and laughed lightly as he nostalgically remembered the same feeling. Looking to his sides, he saw both of his best friends preoccupied in other conversations. Turning back to his food, he spooned it into his mouth as he absentmindedly glanced over at the Slytherin table once again.

His eyes immediately found Pansy.

He had no idea why he was not able to get her out of his head. He hardly knew the girl, but something about her kept his mind occupied. During the summer he had tried everything he could think of to stop thinking of her. He would practice Quidditch for hours with Ron and Ginny. He browsed through collections of books in the Grimmauld Place library with Hermione. He helped George out with the joke shop multiple days a week. He even offered to listen to Percy whenever he wanted to practice giving his presentations for the Ministry. Ultimately nothing worked.

He had realized that he did not have romantic feelings for Ginny about two weeks after the final battle; Two weeks with nothing but Pansy in his mind. Something about her intrigued him. Something about her drew him back. He couldn't work out how one, single, intense moment could have such an effect on him. He had obviously started viewing the Slytherins differently since the night at Grimmauld Place, but now he was just intrigued to find out more.

The morning after the Final Battle, Harry wasn't surprised to find Pansy at the Bell Towers. He had seen her there multiple times before. She had no idea, of course as he was always under his invisibility cloak. Most times he had seen her, she would walk up the stairs and take a couple of deep breaths before crying. He figured that she wanted to be alone so that no one can see her breaking down. Either way Harry found that he wanted in some way to comfort her in some way, but instead he always left her to be alone.

However, there was a night back in Fifth Year; the night after Sirius died that had stuck with Harry. He was sitting under his cloak in the Bell Towers, crying. He remembered that he had just wanted to be alone. He wanted to get away. He had run out of tears by the time he heard the familiar ruffling up the stairs. He did not need to look behind him to see who it was. No one else was ever up here this late. He waited for her to walk to the railings. He waited for her to look out at the view before allowing the tears to fall down. However, none of that came. Curious, he turned to see her still standing at the top of the stairs, staring out at the view. He waited a few more moments but then, she moved to sit. She sat a few feet away from him and pulled a book from her cloak and started reading.

The move was so out-of-character that it shook Harry to his core. He had stayed for about half an hour more. In that time, neither had moved. Pansy sat reading; Harry sat staring at the view. He knew that he was supposed to hate her, but in that moment he was grateful for her. He was happy just to have someone next to him, not forcing him to talk, not forcing him to realize what was to come, and not forcing him to do anything. She was just sitting with him although she was unaware that he was there.

Harry, stuck in his mind, felt someone poke his side sharply. He blinked to see the Slytherin table come into view again. Pansy was staring straight back at him. He didn't break eye contact. Instead he did something he never thought he would do: he smiled at her. It was a small smile, but it made her eyebrows rise slightly before she smirked back at him. Her expression still surprised. Just then, Daphne turned and struck up a conversation with her. Remembering why he was bothered from his memories, Harry turned to his side to look at the culprit of the poke. Hermione was smiling at him with a knowing look on her face

"What?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Hermione replied before turning back to her food, a smile still gracing her face. "We will talk later."

Harry shrugged and turned to finish his meal before joining Ron and Seamus in a conversation about Giants. Just as Ron mentioned that Grawp was starting to grow on him, Professor McGonagall called the students to her attention.

"Now that we have all been fed," McGonagall began. "There are a couple of housekeeping items we need to discuss. First, welcome to all our first years."

She smiled down at tall the little bodies occupying the ends of the house tables while the other students clapped, welcoming the new arrivals.

"We are all delighted to have you here as you embark on one of the most important journeys of your life: your magical education. One piece of advice that I will offer you is to always look for guidance from those in years higher than you. They've experienced what you are now going through and will always help you."

At this point, she stared pointedly at the older students as if she were silently telling them that she would not deal with any difficulties from them.

"The last thing that I wanted to address before I send you on your way is what you can expect from us, your professors this year. We have all been through unimaginable horrors this past year and even many more years before that. But I want you all to know that if ever you need someone to talk to. If you need someone to help you understand, help you cope with your pain and your losses, we are here. We are encouraging you all to lean on each other and to take advantage of the resources available to you. If you do not feel comfortable speaking to one of us, then we can find someone else who is willing to listen and help you."

Professor McGonagall paused as she cleared her throat, most likely pushing any emotion away that was creeping its way up.

"Well now that that's out of the way, everyone but the returning Eighth Year students are allowed to leave."

Harry remained sitting as the other Gryffindors moved to leave. Ginny sent them all a wave as she made her way over to Luna. Hermione turned to look at Harry and Ron.

"What do you think she wants with us?" Ron asked.

"Probably something more about we can do to help with the coping?" Hermione suggested. Harry shrugged. He actually appreciated the efforts Professor McGonagall and the other professors were going to help the students. Sure, it was different than all of their other Start of the Year Feasts, but then again, the last year wasn't exactly the most normal of years. He had a feeling that McGonagall had some underlying reason for the speech she just gave. He had seen new prejudices take place of the old ones since the war ended. He did not history to repeat itself.

As the hall was emptying, he looked around at the students who were still seated. Gryffindor by far had the most returning Eighth Years. He noticed that only Hannah Abbott and Ernie MacMillan returned for Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw just had Padma, Anthony Goldstein, and Terry Boot. Looking down the Gryffindor table he saw that Cormac and Romilda chose not to come back. The Slytherin table just had their five core members. Harry did the quick math and realized there were only 17 of them left. He saw Hermione looking around at their classmates as well, a sad expression on her face.

Silence rang through the Great Hall and he realized that the doors were now closed. It was so silent that Harry could hear every movement he made. Seeing just how many of them were left really hit home He looked up at McGonagall to see her signaling for all of them to move up the tables. After a few moments of rustling, they settled down again and waited for her to address them.

"I want to start off by saying thank you. Thank you for accepting our invitations to come back and finish your education."

"It's not like we had much of a choice," Ron whispered to Harry. Harry laughed lightly before turning his attention back to Professor McGonagall.

"For a long time we did not think it would be possible to reopen Hogwarts so soon, but thanks to the dedication and generosity of some of our volunteers this summer we were able to do it." She smiled down at all of them, her eyes shining.

"Now, as I am sure you have noticed, your year has incredibly downsized. Because of this and our large incoming class of First Years, we have decided that the group of you will all be moved into one of the towers on the east side of the school."

She raised her hand up to stop the chatter that started to arise.

"We believe that this will beneficial to everyone because it will help you all put aside your differences and allow you to lead by example' she continued. "Are there any questions?"

The Hall was silent as the all looked at each other, too shocked to move.

"Well," Professor McGonagall said. "If there are no questions then I will go over the basics: there will be a small common room and study area as well as a kitchen. There will be two quite large rooms, one for the girls and one for the boys. Your password is simple: unity."

Ron sent Harry an incredulous look as if to say, _Can you believe that this is happening right now?_ Truth be told, Harry was just as shocked. He did not know how to react to that fact that he would not be in the familiar Gryffindor Tower anymore.

"Now follow Professor Flitwick. He will take you to your new tower. Have a good night." Professor McGonagall said as she got up to exit. "One more thing: I will not tolerate any fights and disagreements from you lot this year. I expect better."

With that, she turned and swiftly exited the Hall. Professor Flitwick then ushered them all out of their seats and began leading them to their new residence. Harry turned to Hermione and Ron as soon as they got out.

"This could either be a disaster or actually make a difference," he said.

Hermione nodded while Ron replied, "Why am I leaning towards disaster?"

He was eyeing the Slytherins cautiously. Harry looked over at them as well. Malfoy was walking ahead with Zabini, the two of them casually conversing. Nott was walking a little further back with Greengrass and Pansy in tow.

Harry thought back to Seamus' comment on the train. He was right. Pansy was looking good. Harry had always noticed that she took care of herself. She always had worn her uniform differently, more stylish. Today, underneath the traditional black Hogwarts robes, which she wore opened; she had a long sleeve white button-up Slytherin shirt. He was sure that she had transfigured it to be the exact style she wanted. With her shirt, she wore a short high-waist pleated school skirt. This allowed her to show off her tanned legs, which were seemingly lengthened by the heels she wore on her feet.

Harry also noticed that she also wore her hair differently than she had years past. Normally she kept her hair in her short signature bob, but it looked like she grew it out this summer. She had it up in a messy bun on the top of her head. He thought it was ironic that she wore her hair that way when every other part of her was so put together.

"Stare any harder, Harry and she'll notice."

Startled, Harry turned to see Hermione smirking up at him.

"What?" he sputtered, looking around to see if anyone heard her, but Ron was now ahead of them with Neville.

"When did this happen?" Hermione asked him with a genuine smile.

Harry sighed. He wanted to deny it but it was Hermione he was speaking to….odds are that she already knew about his feelings before he did. Still, he didn't want to give in so easily.

"Around the same time you started having feelings for Malfoy," he shot back. His words were met with wide eyes.

"I don't-"

The rest of her sentence was cut off by Professor Flitwick stopping and calling the students to attention. They were now in front of a tall statue of a dragon.

"This dragon is what will get you into your common room," Flitwick stated in his squeaky voice. "Let us try to open it together for the first time. On the count of three: one, two, three…"

"Unity," they said as the word rung through the empty hallway as they recited it together for the first time.

The huge dragon stirred awake and raised its wings on either side of him to create a double entry way. Harry smiled at the impressive display of magic.

Flitwick hurried them into the room. Harry looked around and was instantly stunned. He heard Ron whistle, impressed. The common room was large; larger than the Gryffindor Common Room by miles. It had a geometric perimeter with two large staircases in back of the room which were leading up. The walls were light blue with gold trimmings. The top of the walls actually had two gold borders going around a painting. Harry stepped back a little to get a better view of it.

The painting was of a snake, lion, badger, and eagle, all standing together in unity. As Harry squinted, he realized that the writing around the animals were actually names of him and his classmates. Captivated, he looked down only to find an enormous ornate rug covering the floor. In the middle of the room was a vast round couch surrounding a coffee table. To the sides, there were desks large enough for 6 people to work on. There were also long rows of bookshelves lining the entire back of the room. They were filled with books. Harry looked to Hermione and saw her staring in awe at all the books. He knew she would be done with those before Christmas. Laughing at the accuracy he turned back to Flitwick who had begun talking again.

"We hope that you all find this adequate. Down this small walkway, you will find the small kitchenette. Lastly, girls: upstairs to the right; boys to the left."

He smiled at them all before turning and exiting, leaving them alone for the first time.


	7. Chapter 7

The tension in the room was palpable. Pansy looked around at her class mates; they all seemed to be avoiding eye contact with each other. She could not think of a more awkward situation. Here they were… people who have all grown up together, to hate each other, and to make assumptions about one another… But Pansy realized in that moment that they were more alike than they were ever different. They were all brought up to think and act a certain way, but every single one of them standing in this room that embodied unity were all fucked up in some way. They were all broken one way or another. So she decided in that moment that she wasn't going to let the war hold her back any longer.

Pansy grasped Daphne's hand, held her head high, and ignoring all four of her best friends' shocked expressions, made her way over to where Granger stood between Potter and Weasley, with the Patils and the lone Hufflepuff girl, Abbott, not far away.

"Daphne and I are about to head upstairs to check out the girls' dormitory," Pansy said to the four girls. "Would you care to join us?"

The room was dead silent. The ring of her words hung in the air like a bad smell. Pansy hated that she put herself out there. She reveled in being the cold bitch that didn't show any weaknesses, but she didn't tear her blue eyes away from the brown ones of Granger. Granger wasn't called the smartest witch of her age for nothing. She knew an olive branch when she saw one, and so she grasped the other side of it. She smiled widely at Pansy.

"We'll love to."

Pansy returned her smile as she felt the tension leave her body. She hadn't realized how hard she was squeezing Daphne's hand until she let it go.

"Sorry Daph," she mumbled as they led the other girls up the stairs.

"It' okay," Daphne replied from behind her then dropping her voice, "I'm proud of you."

Pansy smiled. She was proud of herself too. She couldn't keep living in a divided world. None of them could.

When she reached the top of the stairs, she pushed two big wooden doors that opened to reveal a gorgeous neutral-colored room. It was circular with queen-sized beds lining the walls. Next to each bed were the girls' trunks. Pansy walked over to hers and was pleased to see that it was right next to a window.

The view was breathtaking, overlooking the Hogwarts Lake. Pansy looked to her left and saw Daphne settling in on the bed next to her. She turned to the right and saw Granger standing next to that bed unpacking her trunk. Next to Daphne were the Patil twins, with Abbott ending the circle. Moving closer to Daphne's bed, Pansy sat on her own and flicked her wand to set her clothes and belongings to unpack themselves.

"Impressive," Daphne said as she leaned over her bed to open her own trunk. She rummaged through it a bit before pulling out a night gown. "I'm too tired to even think about unpacking at the moment."

Pansy laughed softly. "What time did you guys arrive back to England last night?"

Daphne pulled out her little bag of toiletries from her trunk, closed it, and sat up on her bed to face Pansy.

"Around midnight, but my mother actually didn't want us to come back," Daphne said dejectedly.

"What?" Pansy exclaimed. "What happened?"

"She loves France. And I mean _loves_. She hardly speaks in English anymore. It's infuriating honestly. But anyway, once Tori and I got our letters, we spent close to two weeks begging her to let us come back to Hogwarts. She only agreed after I told her that I thought I was losing my mind."

Pansy lifted an eyebrow at her, silently telling her to continue. Daphne sighed.

"It was so hard to only have that damn charmed bracelet that Draco gave me for all of us to communicate," she said, looking down at her bag as she picked little fluffs off of it. "I missed you guys so much. I wanted to be fighting alongside you. You have no idea how mind numbing it was to only have Tori and my mother to talk to. Sure, the Black family library had some interesting books but I can only read so much. I actually started to take up muggle hobbies. Like painting and yoga. They calm me down and let my mind focus for a while before I thought of you guys again."

Pansy smiled at that. Daphne was always the more artistic one between the two of them. She didn't find her hobbies to be that surprising at all.

"Do you want to know the worst part though, Pans?" Daphne said her voice barely above a whisper.

"What?" Pansy asked, concerned.

"I feel like I missed out on so much. I know that it's a good thing that I didn't witness all the horrors that came with the war, but you guys went through this experience together. It's something that you will always share because you came out of it together. You grew closer because of it. I guess I feel like an outsider in my own friend group."

Pansy was quick to make her way over to Daphne's bed. She placed her arm around her and hugged her tightly.

"You're not an outsider. You'll never be an outsider. Yes, we all did experience these things together, but they were not things that I would ever want you to experience,"

Daphne smiled as she returned Pansy's hug.

"Daph, you've been my best friend since we were in diapers. Draco, Blaise, and Theo have been our best friends for that long as well. Nothing can break our bonds of friendship. It's been so hard for me not to have you there. There were a couple of times where I actually begged Draco to let me send you a letter or to even Floo you. He refused, of course, and I didn't handle it well. I actually believed I hexed him…"

Daphne laughed and Pansy finally let go of her. She really had missed her so much.

"Pans, it's good to know your temper is still as volatile as ever," Daphne said between laughs.

Pansy laughed too because it was true. She had the infamous Parkinson temper.

"Daphne, I'm really happy you're back," she said earnestly to her best friend. Daphne smiled at her, with tears in her eyes.

"Me too, Pans, me too."

"Theo is also happy you're back," Pansy said softly. Daphne smiled.

"You think so?"

"Oh definitely, I mean, he was a mess. Whenever you guys get time to talk, he will tell you everything. The war was hard on all of us but not having you there during the hardest time of his life was something I think really messed with him."

Daphne nodded solemnly and smiled sadly. "I really missed him. I can't imagine what he and all of you really went through."

Pansy returned her smile as she let her gaze wander back across the room. Her scan halted when she saw Granger still unpacking her belongings the muggle way. Pansy looked back at Daphne before sighing.

"I think there's something I need to do," she said. Daphne sent her a quizzical look but said nothing. Pansy stood up and cleared her throat. Granger stopped what she was doing and looked towards her.

"Granger-" Pansy started but the Gryffindor held up a hand to stop her.

"If you're about to apologize Parkinson, don't." she said sincerely, before continuing. "Your actions during the war and downstairs, just now, show me all that I need to know. We were all brought up and dragged into this mess because of Voldemort and I don't need an apology for your actions when were children.

Yes, you were terrible, but I know it was how you were taught to act. I don't know the details of your deflection, but I hope one day you would feel comfortable enough to tell me. It's clear to me that you're a different person now. Also, call me Hermione if it pleases you." She smiled at Pansy.

Pansy stood startled by Granger's words. She glanced at Daphne and saw her reflection mirrored. Daphne met her eyes and shrugged. Pansy turned back to Granger and saw that she had resumed unpacking.

"As much as I appreciate the free pass, Gran-Hermione, I do owe you an apology," Pansy said seriously. She just wanted to get this damn apology out so that she can go back being her less-than-nice self. Not that she wasn't nice, she just hated being vulnerable.

Granger stopped her actions once more and sat on her bed facing Pansy and Daphne, looking like the best student that she was, ready to listen.

Pansy sat on her bed beside Daphne, crossed her leg graciously over the other, and took a small breath.

"As you said, I was terrible to you and your friends throughout our previous years here, and you're right, I was brought up to think that not only were all Muggleborns beneath me, but in reality anyone with lesser blood that pure was also beneath me," Pansy paused and ran a hand through her long hair.

"You see, unfortunately, I am my father's daughter. He instilled into me from day one that Purebloods were never to be seen as weak. I believe that almost all Pureblood parents instill this into their children."

Daphne nodded next to her. "She's right," she told Granger.

"My father always went a bit further though," Pansy continued. "He made sure that I knew that Slytherins never associated themselves with other houses. He said that it was the 'Parkinson Way' to be sorted into Slytherin and because I was the misfortune of being a girl, I had to find the proper family to marry into as well."

Pansy spat out the last sentence like a viper's venom. Hermione looked at both Slytherin girls in front of her and realized that there was so much more to them that meet the eye. Pansy looked back at Granger before continuing, her eyes soft.

"Unfortunately for my dear father, I am also my mother's daughter. My strong, incredible mother instilled into me kindness," Pansy paused as she laughed heartily. Hermione and Daphne smiled, but said nothing as they both knew that Pansy needed to talk. Call it women's intuition if you will.

"Ironic, I know," Pansy continued. "I suppose I wanted to be more my father's daughter than my mother's once I got to Hogwarts, but my mother did try to teach me kindness. I may not have caught on to it earlier in my life, but I know now that this is what she wanted me to be. She wanted me to make friends regardless of their blood or house. Now that she's gone, I find myself thinking about all the lessons she tried to teach me." Pansy's voice thickened. Beside her, she felt Daphne stiffen. She realized that she hadn't brought up the death of her mother to Daphne yet. She supposed she would have to talk to her about that after this apology to Granger was over. She looked straight into Hermione's eyes and continued.

"I don't want to be my father's daughter anymore; I want to be what my mother wanted me to be and more. I am so sorry for the hateful comments I threw your way, Hermione. I hope we can become friends."

Pansy took a deep breath as she awaited Hermione's response. Hermione seemed to have tears in her eyes. It made Pansy feel slightly uncomfortable because she realized that she just shared a lot of her life with Hermione Granger. It was something she never thought she would do.

"You're forgiven, Pansy, completely forgiven. You too Daphne," she added to the other Slytherin, whom seemed fixated on her best friend, but turned to Hermione when she heard her name.

"I look forward to being your friend, Hermione," she responded with a sweet smile.

"Great!" Hermione replied, as she tried to break the somber tension. "So Pansy, Daphne, how long do you think we have until we have to check and see if the boys have murdered each other?"

That broke the ice and all three girls broke into fits of laughter.

"I bet my mother's most priced piece of jewelry that they are all still standing in the same positions we left them in." Daphne said.

Hermione chuckled, "That or the wands have been drawn."

Pansy laughed. It would be like the boys to have their wands out on each other.

"Well," Hermione said as she stood up from her spot on her bed. "I'm going to try to go to bed. I can't wait for classes to start tomorrow!"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Good to see that some things never change, Granger."

Hermione laughed as she said goodnight to the Slytherins and pulled her curtains around her bed. Once she was out of sight, Daphne turned slowly to look at Pansy.

"Well that was interesting."

Pansy laughed. "Indeed it was."

"Pans…" Daphne said as she reached out to hold her hand. "I am so sorry about your mom."

Pansy nodded as she squeezed Daphne's hand. "It was hard. I don't think I am completely ready to talk about it, but you know when I am, I will be coming straight to you."

Daphne hugged Pansy as she nodded.

"I understand," she said as she went to pick up her night gown and toiletries bag. "I am here when you need me."

Pansy smiled as she followed Daphne's lead and got ready for bed. She was proud of herself for apologizing to Granger and thus moving her life in a better direction. That is what this year was going to be about…making herself a better person.


End file.
